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Everybody Fiesta: A Unit on Hispanic Celebrations
How did you modify this unit for use in your own classroom?: I presented the unit during the holiday season, so I only focused on the holidays that are celebrated during this season. The students were introduced to Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and Three Kings Day. Since most of the students celebrated Christmas and Three Kings Day, they were interested in comparing the two holidays. Therefore, we focused on learning more about these holidays.
In addition, my students also had to learn research skills; therefore, several of the lessons were focused on collecting data for their essays.
List your primary instructional objectives for your students.
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Students will learn how to use different resources to gather information about the different holidays (i.e., library books, Internet, interview their classmates). |
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Students will learn how to develop a compare/contrast essay. |
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Students will learn how to enhance typed essay with images from the Internet |
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What role did technology play in this curriculum unit?: - students used the Internet to research the different holidays
- students used the Internet to find images that represent the holidays
- students used Microsoft Word to type their essays
- students used Microsoft drawing function to group and format images.
How did you assess and evaluate student performance?: The students were assessed through observations, constant class discussions and one-to- one conferences. Students had to use their prior knowledge to write about their own culture and obtain information about their partner's culture.
Please tell us briefly about your background & teaching experience: Ms. Mireya Betancourt has been teaching third grade at P.S 35 for 8 years. She has a Masters degree in Education and has been teaching for 15 years. She chose teaching as a career because it is quite gratifying to work with children of all ages and cultures. It is a pleasure to help them academically and socially and to prepare them for the challenges of this world. She chose this unit because she wanted her students to have a better understanding of the traditions of their fellow classmates. Through this project the students obtained a deeper understanding and respect for their peersÂ’ cultural beliefs and traditions. It was a great experience!
What are your recommendations for other teachers interested in adapting this unit?: This unit requires a lot of computer skills. Therefore, if you are going to present this entire unit , you should begin to teach the computer skills at the beginning of the school year.
Samples of Student Projects
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