Description

This unit can be done well in 4-5 weeks and aligns with standards from various states. And all student materials come in print-and-go PDF and editable Google files!

Included in this Culture & Subculture unit:

Overview Materials

• Teacher Unit Overview with general notes, links, standards, and a pacing guide
• Daily Lesson Plans with step-by-step details, planning, and lesson takeaways
• Detailed Answer Keys for each activity
• Student Unit Review and Skills handouts with self-checking questions and “I Can…” standards statements in student-friendly language
• Student Unit Notes sheet for building deep and nuanced mastery of concepts of the unit
• Editable Parent Permission form to inform families about sensitive topics that are covered in this unit

Student Activities

• Culture Shock: read and reflect on the lived experiences of immigrants as they explain their most memorable culture shock moments once arriving in America
• 2 Crash Course Guided Notes: provide an overview of concepts with these videos and embedded “pause and talk” real-world application tasks (perfect lecture or textbook replacement or want a flipped classroom experience)
• Our Culture: closely examine, discuss, and reflect on the culture of your school by creating effigy dolls, applying sociological concepts
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding: watch this endearing based-on-real-life rom-com to see all the elements of culture from a comedic angle
• Case Study: The Baguette: investigate and discuss the culturally iconic bread and what it represents to French culture
• Break a Norm Project: plan and conduct one’s own sociological experiment, reflecting on and sharing results (always a huge hit with students!)
• Tourist Brochure Project: create an inviting overview of other countries’ cultures, including high, pop, and folk cultural elements
• Lives of the Amish: learn about the subcultural Amish way of life and compare its values and norms to mainstream American culture
• Case Study: Japanese Skateboarding: investigate and discuss the spread of this subculture worldwide and how it’s both thriving and unwelcomed in ultra-polite Japan
• Subculture Sketch: research and share with others details and purpose of various subcultures in American society to find commonalities and develop empathy for others 

Lecture Kit

• 90-Slide Deck: introduce concepts with images and real-life examples; broken into four 30-45-minute lectures to deliver throughout the unit
• Guided Notes & Quizzes: support and assess learning with these no-prep tools

Assessments:

• Open-Ended Essay: encapsulate understanding of concepts by forming a personalized and supported answer to the not-so-simple question, “How does culture define me?”
• Short Answer Test Questions: succinctly assess students’ mastery of concepts and application to the real world and their own lives
• Sociologist’s Journal: builds deep reflection on personal beliefs and experiences about concepts

This resource includes 113 PDF pages, plus Google files. 

Note: this unit includes viewing two films (My Big Fat Greek Wedding and The Lives of the Amish). An editable parent permission slip is included if needed.