Catie Larson
11/12/12
Cultural Heritage Concept Formation - Russian Cultural Heritage
Context:
Background/Topic: Cultural Heritage is the inherited objects that show the human
intellectual achievement in a certain society. While learning about the geographical
region of Russia/Central Asia, we will cover what cultural heritage means along with part
of SOL WG.4 The student will locate and analyze physical, economic, and cultural
characteristics of world regions – Russia and Central Asia Cultural heritage: Ballet,
Faberge Eggs, Music, Icons, Matryoshka dolls, Oriental carpets, Samovars. The SOL is
very low level comprehension, the state merely wants the students to memorize the
objects they have defined as cultural heritage. I would like for the students to be able to
understand why these particular objects are used to define the Russian culture. Before
learning this lesson, most of the students would have taken World History II and should
be familiar with some of the historical concepts, such as Tzar Peter the Great, which will
be covered in the lesson. The day before this lesson, they will have covered the physical
characteristics of Russia/Central Asia, which will help them visualize and map out where
in Russia/Central Asia each object is predominately found. For the Russians (and Central
Asia) this cultural heritage is a blend of both the East and the West. So it is key for the
students to understand where an object is coming from to understand how it fits into
Russia/Central Asia’s cultural hertiage
Class: World Geography
Time: 90 Minutes
Instructional Model
The Concept Formation lesson plan is designed to teach students the intricacies of
a certain concept. The concept used in this lesson is “cultural heritage.” World
geography is not just a class about maps and where places are in the world; it is also
about different cultures. To understand a culture properly, the students need to know a
society’s cultural heritage. The lesson starts out with the students filling out a Data
Retrieval Chart that leads the students to the definition of the concept. After that, the
students must take that knowledge of the concept and apply it using one of four methods
identifying an example/non-example, creating their own example, finding the
examples/non-examples in a list, or correcting a non-example. My students will be
creating their own examples in their letters compare/contrasting American and Russian
cultural heritage.
Objectives:
Define Cultural Heritage
Discuss the French influence on Russian culture, including Tzar Peter the Great’s
role in westernizing Russia
Discuss the influence of Far Eastern cultures on Russian cultures
Compose a letter comparing/contrasting American and Russian cultural heritage
Compare/Contrast Russian Cultural Heritage to American Cultural Heritage
Identify aspects of American Cultural Heritage
SOL WG.4 (See above)
Materials needed:
Prezi
Icon
Nesting Dolls
Copies of Chart
Projector
Computer/internet
Content and Instructional Strategies:
1) Cultural Heritage - The inherited objects that show the human intellectual
achievement in a certain society
2) Hook – Write “Russia” on the board. Have the students come up and write
things that they associate with Russia on the board. This could be cities,
ideas, people, etc. This could be in a word document and I type it. Or on the
interwrite tablet.
3) Data-Retrieval Chart and Example Analysis
a. Pass out the Data-Retrieval Chart (appendix A) to all of the students
b. Go through the Prezi with the students
i. http://prezi.com/eflb3tx3aq5w/russian-cultural-
heritage/
ii. On computer/jump drive if internet is not working for some
reason
iii. While going through the Prezi loosely follow the script below,
but also make sure to go over the answers to the chart with the
students.
c. Faberge Eggs – What language does Faberge sound like? Does it
sound Russian? NO. It is French. Do you remember Peter the Great?
Do you remember anything he did? He wanted to emulate Western
Europe, especially France. What holiday do we dye eggs for? Easter.
The tradition of egg dying comes from Russia, where people who
couldn’t afford the fancy eggs would dye eggs instead. Here are two
examples of Faberge eggs at the Richmond Fine Arts Museum (play
videos). The first one is the Imperial Peter the Great Easter Egg. The
second one is the Imperial Czarevich Easter Egg.
d. Dance (Ballet and Ballroom) – Russians are known for their
magnificent ballet and ballroom dance skills. Where do you think that
Ballet is from? SURPISE, its from France, again. This dance was
developed in the French court for aristocrats. Have any of you seen a
ballet? Here is a clip from the ballet Swan Lake. The Russians
originally learned of ballet and ballroom from Europe, but they are
known for perfecting both dances. During the Soviet era, the Soviet
government put a lot of money into Ballroom dance in Russia, and
Eastern Europe. This is a Russian couple dancing the Quickstep.
e. Music - Anyone know any Russian composers? Can anyone
pronounce this name? This is one of Russia’s most famous
composers. He took the French and Russian traditions and blended
them together. We are going to listen to the French national anthem
and then a piece of music by Tchaikovsky. This is a piece called the
1812 Overture. I want you to listen for the French national anthem
and the non-traditional instrument.
f. Icons - (Pass the Icon around) Anyone remember what religion Russia
is? They are Eastern Orthodox Catholic. Icons are very important to
the Eastern Orthodox church. They have icons everywhere. In their
homes, in their churches. Looking at this icon, what do you think an
icon is? An icon is a visual representation of Jesus, or a saint that
Eastern Orthodox Catholics use to worship. It comes from the
Byzantine Empire in central Asia/Turkey. On the Prezi is an icon
from the St. Sophia Cathedral.
g. Dolls - (Pass around the nesting dolls) Have you seen these before?
When do you normally see them? These particular dolls are Christmas
dolls. The nesting dolls are originally from Siberia.
h. Oriental Carpets - Does anyone have a carpet like this at home? These
are handmade carpets, with very intricate designs. The oriental carpet
originally comes from China and Vietnam, but it has spread to central
Asia.
i. Samovars - What is this thing? Any ideas what it does? This
contraption is a samovar. Which is just a fancy way to say water
boiler. These are used in Russia for tea time. What other culture is
really big into tea? Where does tea come from? So, we have a little
bit of the East and a little bit of the West coming together in Russia.
j. Definition – What do you think this means? (break down definition by
parts)
4) Defining and Labeling the Concept
a. The definition is the last part of the Prezi, as seen above. The students
should work together as a class to come up with a workable definition
of Cultural Heritage that makes sense to them.
b. Allow for questions
5) Classifying (Type 3)
a. The students will then have the rest of the class period to write a letter
to a friend describing what cultural heritage is. This should include 34 examples of American cultural heritage.
i. Turn in at the end of class.
Assessment:
The letter that the students will write will serve as their summative assessment of
this concept. By having the students describe the concept of cultural heritage to a peer
will show that they have not just memorized the definition, but have actually internalized
it and have synthesized the given definition with prior knowledge. As the lesson is
going along, questions and going over the chart will help me to formatively assess how
well the students understand the material.
Differentiation:
There will be a mix of visual, audio, and tactile aids to help all kinds of learners in
the classroom. Within the curriculum, this allows for students who excel at writing in the
first person show off their skills. In other lessons, I will allow for students to write
formally, take tests, and to express their creativity through audio or visuals. Since the
writing is being done in class, I will be able to help students one-on-one with their letters.
Accommodations:
This class has some students with ADHD and the combination of different
presentation aids along with the fast, interactive pace of the lecture portion will help these
students learn the material.
Teaching Reflection
This lesson was so much fun to teach. The students got really into the Prezi and
they were very responsive to the lesson as a whole. With the World Geography class,
they are generally a fun class, but it early and it can be hard to engage them. They did
everything wonderfully. They asked questions and added much more than I expected to
the class discussion. One student who is usually fairly unengaged, loved this lesson and
was super excited to show off what he knew. The one snag that I had was that the
students did not know what prevalent meant (on the chat). With a little bit of help from
my CT, I was able to help them out and change the discussion direction to include more
about what EXACTLY the students should write on their charts.
Technology Reflection
1. This lesson has some hints of UDL elements. In the “lecture” portion, I have
included tactile objects to pass around, videos to watch, and a lecture to listen to.
With the writing portion, the students will not really have a choice in what they
are doing, but there could be some differentiation implemented if a teacher
wanted to do so.
2. Technology should be a means to an end, not an end itself. In Social Studies,
there are many ways you can bring technology in as a way to enhance the learning
of content. For every type of learner, there is some sort of technology that would
ease the learning of content. There are a lot of facts to give, so sometimes it is
just not possible to use whatever kind of technology a teacher wants to use. Allin-all, I am a big fan of technology use in a smart way.
3. I really see myself using technology mostly as a way to present content. For
example, mostly using with Prezi, PPT, Smart boards, interwrite tablets, etc. I do
want to use technology to have the students create content maybe about once a
semester. I see this taking the form of making videos, blogs, or songs, but I am
still very open to all ideas. I am still really exploring how I want to use
technology in the classroom.
4. In this particular lesson, the technology is used to make the content more fun.
The technology really backed up the content. I was able to present what I wanted
to the students in a way that kept the class under control, but we were still able to
have a real conversation about the content. I want my students to be active
learners and I don’t know that the technology made it that way. BUT, I think I
was more confident knowing that I had a technological product that I really liked.
5. I like that Prezi is so easy to make look pretty without being overwhelming. I
think that sometimes PPT’s special features can be overwhelming for me, so Prezi
is a good alternative. I was able to go through the Prezi and know that when I
clicked next, the video would automatically start and that was really good for the
way that this lesson was set up. The students were able to get a good visual
representation of something that is hard to define and that they had never really
seen before.
6. I didn’t really like the Learning Activity Types approach. I think because this is a
lesson that we had to do for our methods class, so I really knew exactly what I
wanted to do in the strict parameters that were already in place. I am really still
exploring with technologies, and for me it works better to just try and do a lot of
things before I figure out what works and doesn’t work. It was good for gaining
ideas for other potential lessons.
Where in Russia
is this object
prevalent?
Faberge Eggs
Ballet
Music
Icons
Matryoshika Dolls
Oriental Carpets
Samovars
Do you see this
object today?
Where?
Did this object
come from
somewhere
outside of Russia?
Where?
Do the Russians
make this object
on their own?