Project Template

Name

Jessica Hinchey

Date

June 11, 2015

Project Title

Family Traditions

Grade Level/Subject Area(s)

Fifth Grade

Purpose

For students to be able to understand the importance of

family history.
To help students understand their culture, and how that
influences their family traditions today.

CCLS/ISTE Standards

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.6

With some guidance and support from adults, use

technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish
writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.4

Produce clear and coherent writing in which the

development and organization are appropriate to task,
purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.1

Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions

(one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse
partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others'
ideas and expressing their own clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.3

Summarize the points a speaker makes and explain how

each claim is supported by reasons and evidence.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.5.3

Use knowledge of language and its conventions when

writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
ISTE Standards:

1.Creativity and innovation

Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct
knowledge, and develop innovative products and
processes using technology.
a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas,
products, or processes
b. Create original works as a means of personal or group
expression

2. Communication and collaboration

Students use digital media and environments to

communicate and work collaboratively, including at a

distance, to support individual learning and contribute to
the learning of others.
a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or
others employing a variety of digital environments and
media
b. Communicate information and ideas effectively to
multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats
c. Develop cultural understanding and global awareness
by engaging with learners of other cultures

3.Research and information fluency

Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use
information.
b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and
ethically use information from a variety of sources and
media
c. Evaluate and select information sources and digital
tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks

4. Critical thinking, problem solving, and

decision making
Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct
research, manage projects, solve problems, and make
informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and
resources.
a. Identify and define authentic problems and significant
questions for investigation
b. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or
complete a project
c. Collect and analyze data to identify
d. Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to
explore alternative solutions

5. Digital citizenship
Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues
related to technology and practice legal and ethical
behavior.
a. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use
of information and technology
b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that
supports collaboration, learning, and productivity
c. Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning

6. Technology operations and concepts

Students demonstrate a sound understanding of
technology concepts, systems, and operations.
a. Understand and use technology systems
b. Select and use applications effectively and productively

Desired Outcome - Knowledge

Students will be able to understand the importance of their

family histories and how that affects their family traditions.
Students will be able to connect with their families past
culture, and what their grandparents did as children
compared to the family traditions they continue to
participate in.
Students will be able to present their cultures traditions
and hobbies to other classrooms during the culture fair
they will put on.

Desired Outcome - Skills

Students will be able to communicate with their classmate

their culture and the different family traditions that they
practice.

Essential Question(s)

How does our culture shape our family traditions?

Project Plan
Phase 1: Activity(ies) to set the
stage for the project

Day 1:
Students will begin with an activity where they will
brainstorm all that they know about what family traditions
their families participate in. During this activity students
will first learn about what specific traditions their families
participate in and that no tradition is right or wrong.
The teacher will begin introducing what a tradition is
and how there can be no right or wrong kind of family
tradition because it is based on that specific family.
Students will take a short survey about what family
traditions their families participate in and how often. After
students take their survey, they will split up into groups,
and the teacher will make sure that students are paired
with someone who has a different tradition than theirs.
This will help the students to build relationships, ideas,
and open their eyes to other traditions than their own.
Once the students are in their groups, each group will
have to create a google doc where they will compare and
contrast the similarities and differences of their traditions.
The teacher will model an example of this for the students
on the smartboard so they can see what is expected from
them. On the bottom of the google doc, each of the
students will write questions and things they want to learn
about the other students culture and traditions.
This should take about 20 minutes. Once each of the
groups is done with their google documents, they will

share it with the teacher. The teacher will then pull up all
the students responses using the Smartboard. Each
group will read their traditions outloud and share what
they want to know about the others culture and traditions.
The overlapping traditions and cultures will show that
families can be similar but also very different. Or that
some families may have the same tradition, but they do it
differently.
The teacher will ask the students to go home and
interview their family members on their culture and family
traditions. Their recordings are to be written in their
culture journals that they have created for this project.
Day 2:
Students will share out their findings from their families
interviews and the teacher will add any additional
information that was found from the family interviews. The
way the students will share their findings is by creating a
class circle and the students will share what they have
found while doing their interviews with their family. The
teacher will make sure that the discussion is focused on
the topic of family traditions and their culture.
The teacher will introduce the different cultures in the
classroom by making a list on the easel of all the different
cultures and traditions that the kids discuss in their circles.
Then the students will be split into groups with someone
who has a different culture and they will teach one
another about what they have found from their interviews.
Once the students have taught their partner a little
about their culture they will then have to share with the
class one thing that they learned about their partners
culture and a tradition that they have. Then the teacher
will have the kids get their computers and begin to
research about their culture for 30 minutes. They must be
writing down information that they learn about their
culture.
Phase 2: Activity(ies) that engage
students in learning (including
field trips, other explorations,
visiting experts, etc.)

Day 3- 5
Teacher will introduce the project that they will be
completing within the next week. During our social studies
block students will be creating their own culture booth.
The students will be researching their culture and
traditions, and then put together their own booth to teach
others about their culture and traditions.
One component of their culture booth that they will be
creating is a Culture cook book- Each child picks a dish
that is a tradition to eat for a holiday and do some
research about it. They will make their own recipe for it,
which includes pictures and specific details so another

person could follow the directions to make this dish. They

will then share this on the collaborative google doc so
then everyone can have access to their recipes.
For the next few days the students will continue to
research their cultures and traditions. They will look up
the dishes that their families have eaten and then chose
their recipes to share in the culture cookbooks with their
classmates.
Day 6-8
Students will begin to put their cookbooks together and
then edit one another's to make sure that our class
cookbook is good enough to share with other classrooms.
Each of the students will be given a trifold poster board
that they will fill with information about their culture and
their family traditions. They will compare their traditions
now and the traditions that their ancestors have followed
back many years ago. The students will begin to put their
boards together with their research and the information
that they have collected from their family members.

Phase 3: Activity(ies) in which

students share their knowledge in
a culminating event, as well as
reflect on the project and their
learnings

Day 9- Students will take a post- survey that asks the

same questions as their pre-survey, and then compare
their thoughts about their culture and traditions.
The students will put on a culture fair where they will
present their boards about their culture to other classes.
The students will have to have certain materials that will
be outlined in the grading rubric, and they must include
those materials in their presentation.
After the culture fair the students will write two to three
paragraphs explaining their experience presenting their
culture and what they have learned about their family
traditions.
The students will create blogs to share their presenting
experiences and what they learned. Each student will
write their own blog and then have to respond to two other
classmates blogs.
Extending the project- Students can create brochures to
hand out in school and throughout the community that
encourage people to learn about their cultures.

Project Schedule
Time Frame

Objective

Task

Day 1
Introducing family
cultures and
traditions
45 Min

Day 2
Introducing
different cultures
55 Min

Day 3-5
Introduction to
Project
55 Min

Day 6-8
Putting it all
together!
45 Min

Students will be introduced to the

different cultures and traditions that
come along with those cultures.
Students will understand how people
may have different culture and
traditions than one another.

The students will start with

brainstorming what family traditions
their families participate in.
Students will take a survey about
cultures and traditions.
The students will discuss with another
student what they know about their
cultures and then they will do some
research on their culture or traditions
that they know about.
The students will go home and
interview their families about their
traditions and cultures.

Students will bring the information

they retrieved from home about their
culture and traditions and share it
with the class.
The students will briefly learn about
other classmates culture and
traditions.
The students will begin to research
their culture and write down facts
that they will use in their culture
booth.

Students will share their findings from

their family interviews.
The teacher will introduce the different
cultures that are in the room and
make a list on the easel so all the
students can see.
Students will briefly teach one other
students about his/her culture and the
traditions that their family partakes in.
The students will begin to do research
on their culture and traditions.

The students will be introduced to

the project, which is to create a
culture booth about their culture and
traditions.
The students will begin to put
together their culture cook book to
display for the school.
The students will continue to do
research about their culture and the
traditions that follow that culture.
The students will begin peer editing
other classmates recipes for the
cook book.
The students will use a trifold board
and begin to put their information
together for their culture booth
presentation.
The students will utilize the
information they have found online

The teacher will introduce the culture

booth project to the students.
The teacher will go over the rubric
with the students so they know what is
expected from them on the day that
they present their culture booth to the
other classes.
The students will begin their culture
cookbooks. The teacher will model
one from the previous year for the
students.

Students will have their cookbook

recipes completed, and they will begin
to peer edit other classmates.
Each students will get their own trifold
board, and begin to put their culture
booth together.
The students will be using information
that they have gathered from the
internet, but also the information they

and from interviewing their families

when putting together their culture
booths.
Day 9
Culture Fair
80 Min

Students will take a post survey

about the knowledge that they have
gained from this project on their
culture and traditions.
Students will present their culture
booths to other classrooms.
The students will create a blog
where they will have to reflect on
their presentation and what they
have learned from this project.
The students will comment on two
other classmates blogs.

have acquired from talking to their

families.
Students will take a post- survey that
asks the same questions as their presurvey, and then compare their
thoughts about their culture and
traditions.
The students will put on a culture fair
where they will present their boards
about their culture to other classes.
The students will have to have certain
materials that will be outlined in the
grading rubric, and they must include
those materials in their presentation.
After the culture fair the students will
write two to three paragraphs
explaining their experience presenting
their culture and what they have
learned about their family traditions.
The students will create blogs to
share their presenting experiences
and what they learned. Each student
will write their own blog and then have
to respond to two other classmates
blogs.

Students can create brochures to

hand out in school and throughout the
community that encourage people to
learn about their cultures.

Extending the
project
60 Min

The students will use their

knowledge gained about their culture
and traditions and use that to
encourage others to learn about their
culture.
The students will create a brochure
to hand out to other classrooms.

Monitoring/Assessing the Project

Benchmarks/Formative
Assessments

Day 1Survey on culture and traditions

Presentation on google doc

Day 2Oral explanations

Research and sharing with peers
Day 3- 5
Recording recipe on google docs
Putting their culture boards together for culture fair
Day- 9
Culture Fair- Rubric
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WV7eokc5rgWuTH
D2kN1lkXy7Wb8Y3LfzOS5deY-C_jk/edit
Post- survey & reflections
Assessing the Project (Include
rubric(s))

Day 1- Survey on their culture and traditions.

Presentations on google docs.
Day 2- Class discussions about the different cultures and
their traditions.
Final Day- Students present their culture and traditions to
the school to try to promote their culture and family
traditions. Students will share their culture cookbooks with
their community.
-Students will share their presentations at the culture fair,
and the teacher will walk around and assess each of the
booths to make sure that the students have the following
items that are on the
rubric.https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WV7eokc5rg
WuTHD2kN1lkXy7Wb8Y3LfzOS5deY-C_jk/edit

Evaluating the Experience

Day 9- Students will take a post- survey that asks the

same questions as their pre-survey, and then compare
their thoughts about cultures and traditions.
Students will write two to three paragraphs explaining
their experience and how their outlook on culture and
traditions has changed since they began this project.
Students will also share their thought on whether or not
they think they will continue to follow the traditions that
their family has when they are older.