Students are introduced to American culture by watching a movie trailer in Spanish. They consider the global influence of American culture. Then they learn about various aspects of American culture, choosing one aspect and researching it to create a presentation. Finally, students predict the future cultural impacts of technology in the United States.
Students read an introduction to the experience that connects their own lives to elements of American culture such as movies, music, fashion, and art, and review the lesson objectives. They then watch a Spanish-subtitled trailer for Frozen 2 and record observations about the trailer in a shared table. Next, they post responses on a discussion wall explaining what the translation of the movie into another language suggests about its audience and the global reach of American films.
Teacher MovesPresent the overview and objectives of the experience, highlighting that students will explore the diversity and global influence of American culture. Draw students’ attention to the Spanish subtitles in the trailer and prompt careful observation. Lead a discussion of wall responses, guiding students to recognize that translation indicates an audience beyond English speakers and that some American viewers speak Spanish. Ask follow-up questions such as, “What influence do you think American movies like Frozen have around the world?” before transitioning to the next scene.
Students read American Culture: Traditions and Customs of the United States to learn about the diversity of U.S. society and major cultural elements such as language, religion, style, food, arts, sports, and holidays. As they read, they complete a graphic organizer by taking notes on each of these categories. Afterward, they view an image of a Women’s National Basketball Association game as an example of American sports culture and post to a discussion wall identifying which aspect of American culture interests them most and explaining why.
Teacher MovesEnsure students can access and navigate the article, and clarify any key terms related to culture and diversity. Model or review how to use the graphic organizer to capture main ideas and supporting details for each cultural category. After students post to the wall, facilitate pair or whole-class discussion in which students share which cultural elements interest them and compare perspectives, emphasizing the range and multicultural nature of American culture before moving on.
Students select one cultural element—language, religion, style, food, arts, sports, or holidays—that they found most interesting and conduct additional research on that topic. They create a presentation that includes explanatory text and images and explicitly describes how multicultural diversity in the United States influences their chosen topic. Students post their completed presentation or a link to it (from tools such as Prezi, Tiki-Toki, PowerPoint Online, Google Slides, or Glogster) to a shared discussion wall. They then review classmates’ presentations and respond to at least two with a question or positive comment.
Teacher MovesSupport students in narrowing and refining their chosen topic and in locating appropriate research resources. Clarify expectations for the presentation, including the requirement to explain the impact of multicultural diversity and to include visuals. Provide guidance on using digital presentation tools as needed and monitor posts to the wall for completeness and accuracy. Encourage constructive peer feedback by modeling effective questions and comments, and, if time permits, invite students to present their work orally and respond to audience questions.
Students reflect on the role of technology in American society and in their own lives. They then write a short blog-style post on a discussion wall predicting future cultural impacts of technological innovations in the United States, explaining their reasoning.
Teacher MovesPrompt students to think about current technologies they use and how these tools shape communication, entertainment, work, and relationships. Clarify the blog-post format and expectations for making clear, reasoned predictions. After students submit their posts, select and share one or more insightful examples with the class and facilitate a brief discussion comparing different predictions about how technology may influence U.S. culture in the future.
Students complete the exit quiz by answering all the questions.
Teacher MovesFacilitate the assessment and use student data to evaluate understanding, address misconceptions, and identify areas for growth.
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