Lesson Plan Assignment #1 Class: Sociology Grade Level: 9--12 Unit: Culture and Society Teacher: Zachary Schomberg Objectives Students will be able to: Compare and contrast different cultures across multiple dimensions. Analyze how the process globalization has impacted culture. Essential Question How does culture contribute to the larger understanding of society? Anticipatory Set You can begin the class by asking students what their favorite type of food is. Then break them up into groups and ask them to create a meal with each person being responsible for part of the meal such as drink, appetizer, main course, and dessert. Have students share their ideas and ask them if they think the meal would be good. You can then ask why no students decided to choose American food as their favorite. What is American food? Does it really exist and why is that such a difficult question to answer. Teaching: Activities Using the anticipatory set activity of talking about food will lead directly to the discussion about the main topic of the lesson which is globalization. There is no established cultural understanding of American food because America has borrowed from other cultures and integrated them into its own culture. Introduce the topic of globalization and provide the definition of globalization as a worldwide integration of government, culture, social movements, economics and ideas. Globalization has occurred due to diffusion-a spread of a piece of culture from one society to another through means such as exploration, military conquest, missionary work, media, tourism, and technology. Sticking on the concept of food as a useful example is the concept of McDonaldization. Corporations, goods and services have spread worldwide. Ask students to brainstorm some examples of globalization in terms of food, technology, fashion, music or other cultural elements that have gained worldwide recognition and acceptance. Split students up into groups and ask them to continue brainstorming but this time ask them to think of ways in which globalization has impacted their own lives. How do they experience other cultures in their own lives? This could be accomplished with a 1-2-4 activity. Ask students to think of examples by themselves then pair up and share and finally get in groups of 4 and share before coming back to the class as a whole. After the group activity it would then be important to address other concepts relating to globalization specifically the concepts of ethnocentrism and cultural relativity. Ethnocentrism is the tendency to believe that your culture is the norm and superior to other cultures. Cultural relativity is interpreting other cultures using the norms and social understandings of that culture. Shifting viewpoint and thinking about how others interpret the world and see things from their own cultural perspective. Ethnocentrism and an inability to think relatively can impede the spread of globalization. Utilize spiraling and revisit concepts such as stereotypes and prejudice and racism which would have been addressed in previous lessons. A current event can be used to illustrate these examples. Video and pictures from a news story can be used to discuss the issues of globalization and how global events impact culture and society in the United States. A pertinent current example would be the ongoing events in Syria http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/16/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 This part of the lesson should be adjusted to stay up to date with current events so long as it remains pertinent to the topic of globalization. Closure Utilize a “find someone who” activity with squares relating to the topic of globalization. Classmates can learn more about one another and continue thinking about the topic of globalization. Check to make sure each student also has definitions for each of the main terms discussed during the lesson. Independent Practice Students choose a country and bring in an example of globalization from that country for next class. Can be a piece of music, art, food, fashion, etc. Either from the U.S. or another country but they must explain what culture is being influenced and how that culture has been affected as a whole due to that specific example of globalization. Assessment Formative assessment takes place during the closure activity in making sure each student knows the definitions. Informal Assessment would also take place during the group work and discussion. Students should demonstrate Active participation and engagement in the class activities An understanding of what comprises culture. How globalization influences culture and society. What types of societal norms can either encourage or inhibit greater globalization. Materials Internet access and projector Board/dry erase markers for brainstorming "Find Someone Who" handout for closure activity. Duration Anticipatory Set-15 minutes Teaching: Activities –Defining globalization, diffusion, discussion about Mcdonaldization: 20 minutes 1-2-4 activity on globalization 15 minutes Lecture/discussion on ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. Current events example. 25 minutes Closure and Independent practice-15 minutes