Culture, Anthropology, and Sociology Lesson

What?

Opening

When the students entered the classroom, they walked right to the table and took a seat. Once seated, the teacher reviewed the group expectations and agenda for the day. For the icebreaker, students and teachers shared three items they would take with them on a trip to another country. The students named many practical items such as clothes, toothbrush packs, money, etc. Some students focused on bringing gaming systems and toys. Seeing the diversity in students' answers and what was essential to each student was interesting. 

The teacher introduces the agenda and rules and conducts the opening.

Read-Aloud

We planned on reading The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo for the read-aloud. The book was forgotten, so we had to improvise by using YouTube. We found a video of someone reading the book out loud, and the students watched and listened to the story. The video was hard to hear in the classroom using the laptop speakers, so the teacher would stop after each significant event and have the students reiterate what happened and then compare and contrast it to the US version of Cinderella. The students were excited to discover the differences and similarities of the stories and why cultures use different iterations of the same story. 

The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo is being read and discussed. 

Language and Culture

After the read-aloud, the teacher discussed four different alphabets with the students. She started by discussing the English alphabet and how each letter represented a sound or phoneme. We discussed how we used these letters to form words and how spellings can change the letter's sound. We then discussed the Spanish alphabet and its similarity to the English alphabet. A couple key differences are the addition of the "ñ" and that some letters have different sounds, such as "j" being pronounced as an "h." Then, we moved on to ancient and modern Egyptian languages, hieroglyphics, and the Arabic alphabet. The students talked about the differences between hieroglyphics, the Arabic alphabet, the Spanish alphabet, and the English alphabet. The students also compared hieroglyphics and the Arabic alphabet, which are symbol-based languages, where pictures stand for sounds instead of letters. Hieroglyphics had repeating symbols for multiple sounds because they did not have that letter or sound in their language. They would use a symbol that sounded similar to that sound, such as "f" and "v." They are not the same, but the Egyptians used them interchangeably due to their phonetic resemblance. The students noticed that the Arabic alphabet was "missing" letters and used repeated letters. They also saw some letters with dots above them. We discussed how these dots signified the pronunciation of the letter. The teacher also discussed how Hieroglyphics was a lost language for a long time. When the Rosetta Stone was found, we could finally translate the language!

Students reviewed the English alphabet, Arabic alphabet, and Hieroglyphics.

Crack the Code

Students were split into two groups of two and one group of three to complete the crack the code activity. The students used their Hieroglyphics chart to decode the sentence on the worksheet. The sentences shared fun facts about Egypt, which the children eagerly shared with the group! The students discovered how important it was to notice that some symbols shared the same English letter. For example, one student wrote "rwled" instead of  "ruled." Technically, "w" was a correct selection for the symbol, but "u" was a better substitution. This led to a discussion about why Hieroglyphics are so hard to translate. Students were excited to learn that the Egyptians also had different symbols for digraphs! 

The students work in groups to crack the code!

Hieroglyphic sentences that the students translated and shared with the group. 

Portfolio Additions

After engaging in the group activity, students were challenged to translate their names into Hieroglyphics. Students were provided cardstock, watercolor paint, paintbrushes, and cups with water to write their names. The students were encouraged to take their time, use color, and be accurate. The teacher notified the students that this would be added to their portfolios. This would be the students' summative assessment since it showed their understanding of Hieroglyphics, language, and culture by applying their new knowledge and comparing their English written names with the ancient Egyptian language Hieroglyphics. All students completed the assignment with 90% accuracy, and the teacher will glue the finished products to each child's portfolio.

Students work on translating their names from the English alphabet to Hieroglyphics.

The students' names are written in Hieroglyphics.

So What?

The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo was forgotten, so we had to improvise quickly. Our best bet was to find a YouTube video of the book being read aloud. We checked to see if it was on the Kindle Unlimited app, but unfortunately, it was not an available option. We did the best with our resources, but the students could have been more engaged if the book had been read in the video. Part of the reason the students struggled was because the video was hard to hear over the buzz of the classroom. The students had to listen to the book through computer speakers over other groups, which took a lot of work. The students did their best to hear, but we could see their eyes wandering around the room. When the teacher noticed this, she started stopping and reviewing each critical event in the story with the students. The students then compare and contrast the Egyptian story with the US version. The students understood the story and the similarities and differences. 

The students enjoyed cracking the code and translating Hieroglyphics using watercolor paintings. The students were engaged and eager to complete the challenge both activities presented. This is encouraging since students need to know that learning can be fun! The students excelled at cracking the code with a few mix-ups on letters. The students were able to learn from their mistakes, adjust their answers, and take pride in their work. They also persevered when things got complicated due to the excitement of the activity. Their perseverance allowed them to learn and engage with the content deeply.

We found a good partner for one of our quieter students during group work. We discussed how we should pair him with another student who was also quiet. We had noticed this student was overshadowed when working in groups in the past, and we wanted to prevent that from happening again. In his group work this week, he was much more engaged and willing to participate. We were encouraged to see this student come out of his shell and share his knowledge with his peers. 

Another student struggles to get along with her peers during group work. She struggles to compromise with her peers and does not like when her peers tell her she is wrong. We have tried to group her with many students but have yet to find a successful pairing. We wanted to pair her with one of the more confident students, which led to lots of argumentation. Due to the students' past issues with conflict resolution, we knew to stay close in case they needed our help solving an argument. One of the teachers sat with their group until the activity was completed. We realize this student will require teachers to be close by while working in groups to support learning conflict-resolution skills. This student needs more practice and guidance and responds well when the teacher helps her understand the situation and possible solutions. She is willing to listen to the teacher about taking responsibility for her actions and amend any hurtful actions or words with peers. 

Now What?

One thing I would do differently next time is to use a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the different alphabets. Though the students discussed the differences in the alphabet and languages, they needed more clarification about the similarities and differences. Graphic organizers are an excellent tool for visually organizing information, and Venn Diagrams can be especially useful when comparing and contrasting. Filling one in as a group would've allowed the students to see and understand how the languages differ from culture to culture. 

The second thing I would do differently next time is allow students to write their Hieroglyphic names in crayons and then paint over them with watercolors. Crayons are made from wax, so they repel watercolor paint. This would've allowed the students to add more accuracy to their symbols while also allowing them to add color to their projects. Some students were frustrated that the brushes made it challenging to add details. Crayons would have allowed the students to meet this need.