Family Culture Assignment
100 Points Total
The purpose of this assignment is to give students an opportunity to learn about family cultures in
urban settings.
Part 1: Family Letters (20 points)
The first component of this assignment asks teams to develop 2 parent notes to be distributed to the
families of the children in your classroom. The first note is an introductory letter while the second
is a note that describes what children learned during the lessons that you and your partner
implemented. Each team member is responsible for one note. See the scoring criteria below for
more information.
Part 2: Regional Exploration (40 points)
The second component of this assignment asks students to develop a PowerPoint presentation that
describes the assigned priority board and provides evidence of resources and hidden rules as
described in Payne, 2005. Each regional team will visit and use research tools to get to know the
strengths and needs of the neighborhoods in the assigned priority board. Part of the assignment
requires a tour of the area including a visit to the team’s assigned priority board office. Teams
should call ahead, make an appointment and visit the assigned priority board office. Once you get
there, ask open ended questions and allow the priority board representative to give you an
overview of the area. Ask more specific demographic data after getting an overview. Ask for
recommendations of things to see and do as well as areas to avoid. Students should take note of the
residential areas but stick to busier roads and conduct your tour during the day as a group.
Teams will also use research tools to come to understand the demographics of the priority board
including such information as racial/ethnic make-up, poverty levels/indicators (i.e. renters versus
home-owners, home values), social services, shopping, public transportation, medical resources,
quality child care, cultural make-up, recreation, and churches. Your goal is to come to understand
the resources, cultural make-up, strengths and challenges of your assigned area. Divide the
research duties among the team members to make this assignment manageable. Meet regularly to
make sure that everyone is on task. See the rubric below for more information.
Research tools and helpful links:
E-reserve readings about specific cultures
Montgomery County Real Estate Information:
http://www.mcrealestate.org/Main/Home.aspx
Priority Boards:
http://www.cityofdayton.org/planning/CP_Neighborhood_links.asp
Demographics:
http://www.bestplaces.net/zip-code/Dayton_OH-74540500000.aspx
http://ohio.hometownlocator.com/OH/Montgomery
Google Earth:
http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html
Part 3: The Family Culture Project Reflection Paper (40 Points)
Write a 3 page, double spaced, professionally written paper that includes a description of what the
regional team discovered about the neighborhoods that were visited and researched. Include a
description of the resources that were available to families as wells as those that were absent.
Demonstrate an understanding of your own culture by including an in-depth analysis of your
personal cultural framework and communication style using the resources shared in class. Include
pertinent information from the following:
 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
 The Iceberg Concept of Culture
 The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity
 Self analysis using the Communication Style and Values Inventory provided in class
Demonstrate your awareness of other cultures by including an in-depth analysis of the culture/s
that comprise/s the groups in the EDT 313 lab experience. Use the following resources to explain
how biases and assumptions about this/these cultural groups might impact perceptions and
interactions with others:
 E-reserve readings about specific cultures
 Payne’s Framework for Understanding Poverty
 Analysis of communication styles of key adults in the EDT 313 lab experience using the
Communication Style and Values Inventory provided in class
Demonstrate your understanding of “Cross-Cultural Communication” by including an in-depth
comparison of the communication styles of key adults (teachers, supervisors, families) in the EDT
313 lab experience and your own communication style and values. Describe key communication
similarities and differences and how those characteristics might impact how you build trusting and
respectful relationships with peers, co-workers and families from culturally diverse backgrounds.
See the rubric below for more information.
Scoring Criteria for Families Assignment
Parent Letters
Classroom Partners Portion of the Families Assignment: 20 Points
To be turned in by each partner pair with the reflection paper.
Partners:
Location of Field Site:
Number of Points Earned
0 pts.
The letter includes one of the following:

An introduction of the partners and
explanation of your role in the
classroom
The letter did
not include an
introduction of
description of
the
investigation
or

1-4 / comments
5 pts.
The letter included a
high quality, coherent
introduction of the
team and explanation
of the team’s role in
the classroom
Or
A description of the investigation and
the activities involved including a
description of what the children learned
related to the ELCS
The letter included a
description of the
investigation and
what the children
learned related to the
ELCS
The letter included only information that
would be of interest to families and was
worded in a way that they could
understand.
Letter was not
family relevant
and was not
coherent
Letter was family
relevant and coherent
The letter included high quality digital
pictures
Did not include
a digital picture
Included a high
quality relevant
digital picture
The letter was word processed and was
professional (neat, grammatically correct,
accurate spelling and punctuation, clear
sentence structure, organized flow of
thoughts).
2 or more
minor errors
0 errors
Scoring Criteria for Families Assignment
Neighborhood Tour and PowerPoint Presentation
Regional Team Portion of the Families Assignment: 40 Points
To be turned in by each Regional Team with copy of the Power Point Presentation in 6 slide per
page handout format.
Team Members:
Priority Board Region:
The presentation includes/demonstrates:
Number of Points Earned
0
1-7 with comments
8
The community characteristics, demographics
and factors that impact the lives of young
children and families in the assigned priority
board region.
An understanding of and evidence for the
resources (Payne, 2005) that are available to
provide support for families as well as the
resources that are lacking.
Insight into the possible hidden rules of the
groups that live in the region that you are
exploring.
An explanation of possible impact of culture
on classroom routines and policies with
examples of how family culture can add to
and/or impact the classroom curriculum
Presentation was engaging. Students did not
read from notes or the slides. Professional use
of PowerPoint (neat, grammatically correct,
accurate spelling, creative). Stuck to the 20
minute time limit.
3 or
more
errors
0
errors
Building Family and Community Relationships
Reflection of the Experience
40 points
Student name:
Reflection paper includes:
Number of Points Earned
0
1. Reflection of Neighborhood Tour The response is
professionally written and includes a description of what
the regional team discovered about the neighborhoods
that were visited and researched. The candidate includes
a description of the resources that were available to
families as wells as those that were absent.
2. Cultural Understanding The response includes an indepth analysis of the candidate’s personal cultural
framework based on resources shared in class including
all of the following:
 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
 The Iceberg Concept of Culture
 The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity
 Self analysis using the Communication Style and Values
Inventory provided in class.
3. Awareness The response includes an in-depth analysis of
the culture/s that comprise/s the groups in the EDT 313
lab experience. The candidate uses the following
resources to explain how biases and assumptions about
this/these cultural groups might impact perceptions and
interactions with others:
 E-reserve readings about specific cultures
 Payne’s Framework for Understanding Poverty
 Analysis of communication styles of key adults in the
EDT 313 lab experience using the Communication Style
and Values Inventory provided in class.
4. Cross-Cultural Communication The response includes an
in-depth comparison of the communication styles of key
adults (teachers, supervisors, parents) in the EDT 313 lab
experience and the candidate’s communication style and
values. The candidate describes key communication
similarities and differences and how those characteristics
might impact building trusting and respectful
relationships with peers, co-workers and families from
culturally diverse backgrounds.
1- 9 w/ comments
10