In-depth Study Unit Topic or Title:
My Culture and Heritage
Essential Question(s): Why is my heritage and culture important to me and who I am?
Curriculum written by: Callie Shanahan
Content area: Language Arts
Grade level: 8th grade
Summary of Outcomes:
Students will learn about their heritage and culture by interviewing someone in their family. They will write poetry, narrative
essays, and reflective journals to help them get to their final presentation. Students will present their findings to the class using a
visual and a PowerPoint presentation. They will also tell oral stories that were passed down when they were doing their
interview.
Content Standards Addressed
Long Term
Student Learning Targets



Montana Standards for Reading
1.1 make predictions and clearly describe, with details,
meaningful connections between new material and
previous information/experiences
1.2 interpret and provide oral, written, and/or artistic
responses to ideas and feelings generated by the
reading material and compare responses with peers.
Content knowledge, reasoning and skills
Literacy skills: Reading, Writing, Speaking
Citizenship
Assessments



Possible sources of assessment
information
Communication of understanding
Final tests and products
Who am I poem
I can add to the word wall when I have new vocabulary
words that come up in the text or discussions.
I can read the Bill Yellowtail Interview while determining
importance for my interview questions.
Practicing Interviews with Peers
Interview Questions
Montana Standards for Social Studies
3.7 Describe major changes in a local area that have been
caused by human beings a new highway, a fire, and
analyze the probable effects on the community and
environment
4.1 interpret the past using a variety of sources
4.3 use historical facts and concepts and apply methods of
inquiry (interviews)
4.4 identify significant events and people and important
democratic values
6.1 compare and illustrate the ways various groups meet
human needs and concerns and contribute to personal
identity
6.3 identify and differentiate ways regional, ethnic and
national cultures influence individual’s daily lives and
personal choices
Montana Standards for Technology
5.3 organize information from technical sources and
communicate findings.
Montana standards for Writing
1.1 demonstrate some control of personal voice, sentence
structure and word choice
1.2 apply conventions of standard written English
appropriate for grade level and purpose
3.1 set goals and analyze successes in their own and
others writing
3.3 identify and describe strengths and weaknesses as
writers
6.4 share information in appropriate ways for intended
audiences
Montana Standards for Listening and Speaking
2.3 speak and listen effectively for an expanded range of
purposes
2.5 identify and use different types of listening appropriate
to the listening situation
4.3 use feedback to evaluate one’s own effectiveness as a
speaker and as a listener, and set personal goals.
I can research my family history and heritage by
interviewing my parents or family members.
Interview Answers
Research online/library
Reflective Journal
Narrative using interview questions
I can create a PowerPoint presentation about my interview
and research to share with the class.
PowerPoint Presentation
Visual Art, Recipe, or Trade
I can rewrite family stories and share them orally.
I can review my reflective journal from the summer to help
me write my poem about myself.
I can write a narrative to summarize my interview answers
and my thoughts about the interview process.
I can write a narrative to summarize my interview answers
and my thoughts about the interview process.
I can teach my peers about my culture by cooking,
teaching a trade or making a visual that represents me.
Vocabulary word wall
I can focus on my presentation skills when I present my
visual about my heritage to the class.
Oral presentation and retell
Essential Understandings
There is great diversity among individual American Indians
as identity is developed, defined, and redefined by many
entities, organizations and people. There is a continuum of
Indian identity ranging from assimilated to traditional and is
unique to each individual.
I can retell the oral stories from my interview and include it
in my presentation.
History is a story and most often related through the
subjective experience of the teller. Histories are being
rediscovered and revised. History told from an Indian
perspective conflicts with what most of mainstream history
tells us
Sequence of scaffolding lessons



What sequence of steps will best engage, support and hold students accountable to reaching the above learning targets?
What student and teacher involved assessment for learning strategies and routines can you build in?
What instructional practices and protocols will you use?
Instructional Practices selected:
Sequence of Lessons
1. Interest Inventory
-answer the questions given about themselves and their interests in and out of school
-discuss answers in small groups and share one ideas out loud in class
2. Reflective Journal from the summer
-students free write in a journal over the summer
-highlight part of their journal that helps ideas on their poem
3. Who Am I poetry
-Idea list (everything that comes to mind about themselves, their family, and heritage)
-Organize ideas into smells, sounds, memories, and quotes
-Handout example and do group feedback
4. Start building a word wall with new vocabulary and questions
-using notecards students will write unknown words on the card and post them on the board
-students answer each other’s questions and put the notecard back up on the wall
Inquiry
-Building Background knowledge
through research
-Interviewing
Comprehension
-7 comprehension strategies
Vocabulary Development
Word Wall for unknown vocabulary
Oral Participation Protocols
-Practice interviews
-Interviews with family member
-Present slideshow, visual, and oral
stories
5. Interview practice and questions
-students will practice writing interview questions after listening to a think aloud about
effective questions
-with a partner students will practice interview skills after seeing an example
-students will come up with 5 questions and use 5 questions given to them for the interview
6. Interview Parents or relatives
-using the questions and practice students will interview someone in their family to find out
about their background and culture
7. Use facts from the interview to research their heritage and culture
-using the library and internet students will research their culture and find facts to include I
their PowerPoint presentation
8. Create PowerPoint presentations
-using the interview answers and research the students will complete a slideshow
presentation to share with the class
-Students participate in peer feedback after the rough draft powerpoint presentation is
complete
-Changes are made from their peer feedback and they practice presenting with a partner
9. Write narrative using interview answers and your own VOICE
-Students will complete a narrative from their research findings and their interview thoughts
-after a rough draft is complete students will give feedback and help their partner with
conventions
10. Visuals that represent me
-recipes, trade, or art
11. Share oral stories, PowerPoint Presentations, and visuals to the class
-students write positive comments for each presenter
12. Complete a self-evaluation using the learning targets for the unit
-students grade themselves on each part of the unit
Represent-to-Learn
-Visuals
-Power point presentations
Write-to-learn
-poems
-reflective journals
-Narrative essay
-Peer feedback
Resources: (e.g. Anchor Texts, District adopted materials, Supplementary resources, Web-sites)
PowerPoint examples
Internet for research
Library for research
Bill Yellowtail interview