The document outlines a lesson plan for teaching 4th grade students about holiday traditions in different cultures. It includes analyzing the learners, stating objectives, selecting materials and methods, utilizing the materials, requiring learner participation, and evaluating learner achievement. The lesson plan incorporates various activities like reading a book, playing music and showing pictures from different cultures, having students research in groups and create posters, and presenting their findings. It aims to accommodate different learning styles and assess student understanding through questions, checking their posters, and having them evaluate the activities.

1. Katie Napier
CI 350
Harold Blanco
3 September 2013
Assure Method Lesson Plan
I.
Analyze Learners:
A. General Characteristics: There are twenty students in my fourth grade class (eleven
girls and nine boys); two of whom are Muslims, three are Jewish, and two are
African Americans. All of my students are approximately nine years old.
B. Entry Competencies: Throughout this lesson, I will be teaching my class about
various holiday traditions of different cultures around the world.Thus, I will
interview my students to check that all students can adequately:
Identify and describefamiliar holiday traditions
Conduct research
C. Learning Styles: Each student learns differently; therefore, I will need to incorporate
a variety of teaching methods so that all children will be able to comprehend the
material covered. Therefore, when teaching this lesson, I will incorporate a class
read-aloud and various holidaysongs(which should appeal to my auditory learners).
Furthermore, I will also utilizevisual aids, pictures, and maps so that my students will
be able to visualize and mentally categorize the information presented. Finally I will
incorporatea variety of hands-on activities into my lesson(such as the creation of a
group project) which will allow the students to work together and utilize their
creativity. Since my students come from diverse backgrounds, I will attempt to make
the material relevant to the children by allowing individuals to share the different
ways that their families celebrate such holidays as Hanukah, Christmas, and Kwanza.

2. II.
State Objectives: My fourth grade students will list and describe the holiday
traditions of specific cultureswhich they will learn through the use of songs, books,
videos, maps (and other visual aids), research, and hands-on activities (such as the
creation of group posters)by the end of the week with 95% accuracy.
III.
Select Methods, Media, and Materials:In order to integrate a variety of learning
styles,I will be utilizing an assortment of media, methods, and materials throughout
this lesson, such as the following:
Storybook:I will begin this lesson by reading the book entitled: Christmas
around the Worldby Mary D. Lankford (which describes the holiday traditions
of a variety of cultures).
Songs and Pictures:I will then play some holiday music from a particular
culture (such as the German Christmas music found at the following
link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGVACo06mDI ). In addition, Iwill
utilize Google images to display various holiday treats from around the world
(such as “fufu,” an African Christmas dish made from goat). In addition, the
incorporation of songs and pictures will allow the children to both hear and
see the different ways that the holidays are celebrated around the world.
Smart Board/Overhead Projector:The smart board and overhead projector
will be utilized to display YouTube videos, maps, and pictures to the children.
Computer Lab: The students will be divided into groups to research
information regarding the holiday traditions of a specific culture.

3. Posters: The students will work within their groups to create a visual display
that will present their researched information. The materials for these
posters include: glue, markers, scissors, and poster board.
IV.
Utilize the Media and Materials:
A. Preview and Prepare the Materials: I will preview all videos, books, websites,
and electronic devices that will be utilized in class. This will allow me to check
that all materials work correctly and are age/grade appropriate. In addition, I will
also prepare the checklist that will be used to evaluate group projects and
presentations. Finally, I will reserve the computer lab for group research, and I
will prepare the smart board and overhead projector (which will be utilized to
display videos and information regarding the class topic).
B. Prepare the Environment: Because the majority of my lesson will be centered on
group work, I will arrange the desks in pods throughout the room (which will
allow for student collaboration). However, due to the fact that I will introduce
the lesson through a class read-aloud, I will also need to designate a portion of
the classroom as the “reading area” so that the students can easily gather
around to hear and see the book that I will be reading. In addition, the smart
board will be positioned in the front of the class so that it will be visible to all
students. Furthermore, since a portion of this lesson involves group research, I
will need to reserve the computer lab for an adequate amount of time so that
the children can effectively complete their group projects. Finally, I will place all

4. materials that will be utilized in the creation of group posters on a table in the
back of the room (an area that is readily accessible to all students).
C. Prepare the Learners and Provide the Learning Experience: To prepare the
students, I will present a brief overview of the lesson and discuss the lesson
objectives. In addition, each student will receive a rubric (checklist) describing
the group activity that will be completed and the method that will be utilized to
evaluate their projects. Finally, I will remind the students that all the materials
that will be needed to complete the group posters will be located in the back of
the room.
V.
Require Learner Participation:
Introduction:To introduce the lesson, I will ask the students how their
families celebrate the holidays (such as Kwanza, Hanukah, and Christmas).
Once the children have had a chance to share some of their family traditions
with the class,I will then remind the children that some cultures celebrate
the holiday season differently than we do.
Whole Class Instruction: At this point, I will read the book entitled: Christmas
around the Worldby Mary D. Lankford (which describes many of the holiday
customs and traditions of various cultures throughout the world). Once the
story has been read and discussed, I will then utilize the smart board to
display a world map to the class. This will allow the children to visualize the
many regions of the world that were discussed in the read-aloud. Once the
children have “helped me” to locate these regions on the map, I will utilize

5. YouTube to play a few traditional holiday songs that are sung in these
regions, and I will display pictures of the various foods and decorations that
are used in holiday celebrations around the world (using Google Images).
Small Group Activities:Finally, I will divide the students into groups, and I will
inform the children that each group will research the holiday traditions of a
specific country/region and create a poster that describes their findings.
(Each poster should include information regarding:the foods, songs, festivals,
decorations, and customs that the people of their assigned region utilize in
their holiday celebrations.) In addition, I will also remind the students that
they could choose to research the holiday traditions forKwanza or
Hanukah.Once the children have finished conducting their research in the
computer lab, we will then return to class so that the children can begin to
work on their group posters which will display their information gathered.
Finally, I will allow the students to briefly present their findings to the class.
VI.
Evaluate and Revise:
A. Assessment of Learner Achievement: Many of my students experience test
anxiety (which negatively impacts their performance). Therefore, projects and
presentations will be utilized as a preferred method of assessment. Thus, in
order to effectively assess my students, I will:
Circulate throughout the room and ask the students various questions. (For
example, I will have the students compare and contrast their own holiday

6. traditions with the holiday customs of the cultures that they are
researching.)
Check that their posters contain:
o A brief description of at least 2-3 holiday foods commonly served in
the group’s assigned region
o A list of at least 2-4holiday songs
o A description of various holiday festivals, decorations, and customs of
their assigned country or region
Make sure that their group presentations are accurate and that all students
are actively participating.
B. Evaluation of Media, Methods, and Overall Instruction:Once the lesson has
been taught, I will allow the children to write a brief paragraph describing the
activities that they found enjoyable as well as the activities that they found
challenging. This information will ultimately help me to make proper revisions in
the future.