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    Cultural Products

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    Subject: World Languages

    Lesson Length: 45 mins - 1 hour

    Topic: Culture, Communication, Comparisons, Expression, Perspectives

    Grade Level: 10, 11, 12, 6, 7, 8, 9

    Standards / Framework:

    Brief Description: Students will focus on understanding one product (books, art, food, clothing, music, etc.) of a culture related to the language being studied and the perspectives (attitudes, meanings, values, etc.) that are revealed through the use of the product chosen.

    Know Before You Start:

    • Students should be able to identify aspects of culture, including traditions and art.
    • Students should know basic facts about different cultures, including cultures where the target language is spoken.
    • Students should be able to identify traits of an element of culture, such as literature, art, music, clothing, or food.

    Hook:

    • Ask students:
      • “How do literature, art, and music help express perspectives in a culture?”
      • “What can we learn about a culture from traditional food or clothing?”
      • “How can we understand more about a culture by learning about traditions and artistic expression?”

    Activity:

    • As a class, have students discuss what they’ve learned about music and the arts and what they know about traditional dress and food in cultures that speak the target language.
    • Have students choose one element of culture to evaluate, e.g., food, music, clothing, etc.
    • Using the sample comic as a guide, have students create a comic that uses that cultural product to identify a trait or perspective.

    Closure:

    • Have students share their comics with the class or in small groups.
    • Have students explain why they chose the cultural elements featured in their comic.
    • Discuss why it’s important to be able to compare tradition and arts from different cultures.
    • Emphasize that part of learning about cultural elements helps create respect and appreciation for people from different backgrounds.

    Differentiation:

    • Allow students to use the speech-to-text feature.
    • Allow students to work in pairs or groups as needed.
    • Allow students to use the voiceover feature to read their comics aloud.
    • Students may need assistance choosing a cultural element or identifying what they can learn about a culture from that work of art, literature, or tradition.
    • Allow students to use digital dictionaries/translators as appropriate for your class policy.

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