Cultural Tales: Exploring Stories and Values

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Cultural Tales: Exploring Stories and Values

Grade 2EnglishSocial Studies19 days

In the 'Cultural Tales: Exploring Stories and Values' project, second-grade students engage with stories from various cultures to understand how storytelling reflects cultural beliefs and values. Through activities like 'Culture Detective Challenge' and 'Story Elements Investigators', students learn to identify story elements, appreciate cultural diversity, and articulate why storytelling is a powerful tool for sharing cultural values. The project encourages reflection and creative expression as students analyze illustrations, create maps, and compile reflection booklets, enhancing their understanding of different cultures and broadening their perspectives.

Cultural StorytellingBeliefs and ValuesStory ElementsCultural DiversityCreative ExpressionReflectionGlobal Understanding

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Inquiry Framework

Question Framework

Driving Question

The overarching question that guides the entire project.In what ways do the elements and characteristics of stories across different cultures reflect and communicate their beliefs and values?

Essential Questions

Supporting questions that break down major concepts.

What are the main elements of a story?
How can you identify the characteristics of a story?
What can stories from different cultures tell us about their beliefs and values?
In what ways can understanding different cultures broaden our perspective?
How are beliefs and values reflected in the stories we tell?
Why might different cultures tell the same story in different ways?
How can storytelling be a powerful way to share cultural values and beliefs?

Standards & Learning Goals

Learning Goals

By the end of this project, students will be able to:

Students will develop an understanding of how beliefs and values shape and are reflected in storytelling across cultures.
Students will be able to identify and compare the shared elements and unique characteristics of stories from different cultures.
Students will gain an appreciation for cultural diversity through storytelling and be able to articulate why different cultures might tell the same story in varied ways.

Common Core Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1

Primary

Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.Reason: This standard aligns with learning objectives focused on identifying story elements and characteristics through questions.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.2

Primary

Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures; determine their central message, lesson, or moral.Reason: This standard supports the exploration of stories from different cultures and understanding their central messages, lessons, or morals.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.7

Secondary

Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.Reason: Visual and textual analysis of stories helps students grasp cultural contexts and characteristics.

C3 Framework for Social Studies

D2.Civ.2.K-2

Supporting

Explain how all people, not just official leaders, play important roles in a community.Reason: Understanding roles in stories and how they reflect community values ties into identifying roles in real communities.

D2.Geo.2.K-2

Supporting

Use maps, graphs, photographs, and other representations to describe places and the relationships and interactions that shape them.Reason: Understanding cultural stories involves exploring the geographical contexts that shape them.

D2.His.2.K-2

Supporting

Compare life in the past to life today.Reason: Stories often reflect historical perspectives and changes in cultural beliefs and values over time.

Entry Events

Events that will be used to introduce the project to students

Culture Detective Challenge

Students receive an envelope with clues about a culture. Their mission is to piece together the clues to understand the cultural story and share with classmates what values or beliefs are revealed through their discoveries.

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Portfolio Activities

These activities progressively build towards your learning goals, with each submission contributing to the student's final portfolio.

Activity 1

Story Elements Investigators

In this activity, students will become story detectives to identify the main elements of a story, such as who, what, where, when, why, and how. This foundational knowledge will help them to understand the basic structure of stories and how different cultures use these elements.

Steps

Here is some basic scaffolding to help students complete the activity.

1. Read aloud a simple story from a familiar culture.

2. Discuss the key elements of the story, focusing on who, what, where, when, why, and how.

3. Have students fill out a story map graphic organizer to visually organize these elements.

4. Encourage students to share their findings with classmates to reinforce learning.

Final Product

What students will submit as the final product of the activityA completed story map summarizing the main elements of a story.

Alignment

How this activity aligns with the learning objectives & standardsAligns with CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1 as it demonstrates students' ability to identify key details of a story.

Activity 2

Cultural Stories Collector

Students will explore stories from different cultures and examine their unique characteristics. Through reading and discussion, students will learn how these characteristics reflect cultural beliefs and values.

Steps

Here is some basic scaffolding to help students complete the activity.

1. Select a variety of stories from different cultures that are age appropriate for students.

2. Read one cultural story as a class and identify unique elements that differ from familiar stories.

3. Have students work in small groups to read and explore a different cultural story.

4. Ask students to present the unique elements of their story and discuss how these elements reflect the culture's beliefs and values.

Final Product

What students will submit as the final product of the activityGroup presentations on the unique characteristics of cultural stories and their reflections on beliefs and values.

Alignment

How this activity aligns with the learning objectives & standardsSupports CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.2 by allowing students to recount stories and determine central messages.

Activity 3

Illustration Interpretation Station

Focusing on visual clues, students will learn how illustrations contribute to understanding a story's cultural context. They will analyze images in stories to gain deeper insights into the characters, settings, and plots.

Steps

Here is some basic scaffolding to help students complete the activity.

1. Introduce students to the concept of using illustrations as a tool to understand a story.

2. Select a book with rich illustrations and read it to the class, encouraging them to pay special attention to the images.

3. Discuss how the illustrations enhance the understanding of the cultural story and the elements within it.

4. Have students create their illustration of a scene from a cultural book, showcasing their interpretation.

Final Product

What students will submit as the final product of the activityA student-created illustration based on a scene from a cultural story, demonstrating understanding of cultural elements.

Alignment

How this activity aligns with the learning objectives & standardsAligns with CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.7 by using illustrations to enrich understanding of story elements.

Activity 4

Mapping Cultural Connections

Students will learn how geographical contexts can shape stories by creating simple maps and exploring how different landscapes, environments, and settings influence cultural narratives.

Steps

Here is some basic scaffolding to help students complete the activity.

1. Discuss the importance of setting in storytelling and how it influences the plot and characters.

2. Introduce the use of maps and photographs to represent storytelling settings.

3. Have students choose a cultural story and create a map that represents the story's geographical context.

4. Encourage students to explain how the geographical setting of the story reflects and influences cultural beliefs and values.

Final Product

What students will submit as the final product of the activityA map created by students that depicts the geographical setting of a cultural story.

Alignment

How this activity aligns with the learning objectives & standardsSupports D2.Geo.2.K-2 by using maps and representations to describe places and their impact in stories.

Activity 5

Beliefs and Values Reflection Booklet

To synthesize their learning, students will create a booklet that reflects on what they have learned about cultural beliefs and values through storytelling. This activity encourages introspection and global awareness.

Steps

Here is some basic scaffolding to help students complete the activity.

1. Review the stories, elements, and cultural insights gathered throughout the project.

2. Guide students in choosing a few key beliefs and values they've discovered in their cultural stories.

3. Assist students in writing short reflective pieces on how these beliefs and values are represented in the stories.

4. Help students compile their reflections into a booklet format.

Final Product

What students will submit as the final product of the activityA reflection booklet authored by each student, illustrating their understanding of cultural beliefs and values in stories.

Alignment

How this activity aligns with the learning objectives & standardsAligns with D2.His.2.K-2 by providing reflections on how stories reflect the evolution of cultural beliefs and values.

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Rubric & Reflection

Portfolio Rubric

Grading criteria for assessing the overall project portfolio

Cultural Story Exploration Rubric

Category 1

Story Elements Identification

Assesses the student's ability to identify and understand the main elements of a story as per the learning objectives.

Criterion 1

Key Details Recognition

Measures the ability to accurately identify key details such as who, what, where, when, why, and how in a story.

Exemplary

4 Points

Identifies all key details accurately and with sophistication, showing a deep understanding of story elements.

Proficient

3 Points

Accurately identifies most key details, demonstrating a solid understanding of the story elements.

Developing

2 Points

Identifies some key details, with occasional inaccuracies, indicating an emerging understanding of story elements.

Beginning

1 Points

Struggles to identify key details, with frequent inaccuracies, reflecting minimal understanding.

Criterion 2

Story Map Completion

Evaluates the completion and accuracy of a story map reflecting the main elements of a story.

Exemplary

4 Points

Produces a complete and detailed story map, accurately representing the story's elements and context.

Proficient

3 Points

Completes a story map with most details accurate, showing good comprehension of the story's structure.

Developing

2 Points

Completes a basic story map but with significant missing or inaccurate details.

Beginning

1 Points

Produces an incomplete story map with numerous inaccuracies.

Category 2

Cultural Characteristics and Perspectives

Evaluates how well the student identifies and understands cultural characteristics and perspectives represented in stories.

Criterion 1

Cultural Element Recognition

Assesses ability to identify and explain unique cultural elements within stories from different cultures.

Exemplary

4 Points

Skillfully identifies and explains a wide range of cultural elements, showing insightful cultural understanding.

Proficient

3 Points

Identifies several cultural elements, explaining their significance adequately.

Developing

2 Points

Recognizes few cultural elements with basic or unclear explanations.

Beginning

1 Points

Struggles to identify cultural elements and provides incomplete explanations.

Criterion 2

Reflection and Presentation

Evaluates the student's ability to reflect on cultural beliefs and values and present their findings effectively.

Exemplary

4 Points

Provides a well-articulated reflection and presentation that captures complex cultural beliefs and values effectively.

Proficient

3 Points

Gives a clear reflection and presentation, adequately covering cultural beliefs and values.

Developing

2 Points

Presents reflections with limited coverage and clarity on cultural beliefs and values.

Beginning

1 Points

Provides incomplete or unclear reflections and presentations on cultural perspectives.

Category 3

Creative and Illustrative Interpretation

Evaluates the student's ability to creatively interpret and illustrate scenes that represent cultural narratives.

Criterion 1

Creative Illustration

Assesses the creativity and relevance of student-created illustrations that represent scenes from cultural stories.

Exemplary

4 Points

Produces a highly creative and culturally relevant illustration that enhances understanding of the story.

Proficient

3 Points

Creates an appropriate illustration that reflects some elements of the cultural narrative.

Developing

2 Points

Displays basic creative efforts with limited accurate cultural representation.

Beginning

1 Points

Illustration lacks creativity and cultural relevance, requiring significant revision.

Reflection Prompts

End-of-project reflection questions to get students to think about their learning

Question 1

How has your understanding of cultural storytelling changed after completing this project?

Text

Required

Question 2

On a scale of 1 to 5, how confident are you in identifying the main elements of a story from a different culture?

Scale

Required

Question 3

Which cultural story did you find most interesting, and why?

Text

Optional

Question 4

How do stories from different cultures help us understand and appreciate cultural diversity?

Text

Required

Question 5

Why might different cultures tell the same story in different ways?

Multiple choice

Optional

Options

To reflect unique cultural values and beliefs

Due to geographical differences

As a result of historical events

For entertainment purposes