Social Studies - World Geography
Lesson Plans

WG Strand 3: CULTURE

Culture is the total sum of human expression. A culture's purpose, as well as how and where cultures originate, diffuse, and change, are all topics worth studying. Students will explore religion, language, ethnicity and other cultural characteristics by looking at patterns and processes. As students explore what people care about and care for, they can learn not only about other cultures but also about the unique attributes of their own culture.

Possible Guiding Questions to Consider:

• How does culture manifest itself on the landscape of the earth?
• How does culture influence social structures and gender roles?
• What effect does globalization and emerging technologies have on the divergence and convergence of culture?
• How do cultures maintain their identities and traditions?
• How are humans shaped and influenced by their own cultures?
• How can learning about other cultures teach us about our own?

WG Standard 3.3:

Students will identify how culture influences sense of place, point of view and perspective, and the relative value placed upon people and places.

• Indigenous Perspectives on Restoring Our World
  Students will uncover the importance of Native perspectives highlighted in five short films. Students watch films that follow individuals from five Native American Tribes across deserts, coastlines, forests, and prairies. The stories document the following traditions and their land management practices: Hopi dryland farming in Arizona, the restoration of buffalo on the Blackfeet reservation in Montana, sustainable forestry on the Menominee reservation in Wisconsin, the revival of Native food forests in Hawaii, and the return of prescribed fire to the landscape by the Karuk Tribe of California. Students will engage in learning experiences to explore the message of each story, the importance of Native perspectives, and how a deeper relationship to the earth is essential for the future of our planet and all of its inhabitants. Lesson plan and videos.
• Part 1: Travel Guide Video Project
  This is the first step in a series of lessons that would ultimately lead to the creation of a travel guide video.  Students will be researching a country's dominant culture using the Utah Online School Libraries' access to CultureGrams.Image from Pixabay, accessed 2/18/2022.  
• The Quilters of Gee’s Bend: Art and Resilience
  The significance of quilting in Gee?s Bend, Alabama, and its contribution to culture, art, and society. Students watch a film about five women quilters living in Gee?s Bend, Alabama, and explore the cultural significance of quilting and its connection to place. Students engage in learning experiences to consider the significance of the quilters? lives, their art, and their relationship to Gee?s Bend, including the history of voter suppression in Alabama during the civil rights movement. (15 minute film)
• What's In a Name?
  Structured as game questions, this activity challenges students to identify cities, states and geographical features whose names tell the story of the Indigenous, Spanish and Mexican settlement that predated the U.S. The investigative questions can be used alone as a geography trivia game, as a matching activity, or in conjunction with analysis of historical maps.

---

http://www.uen.org - in partnership with Utah State Board of Education (USBE) and Utah System of Higher Education (USHE).  Send questions or comments to USBE Specialist - Robert  Austin and see the Social Studies website. For general questions about Utah's Core Standards contact the Director - Jennifer  Throndsen.

These materials have been produced by and for the teachers of the State of Utah. Copies of these materials may be freely reproduced for teacher and classroom use. When distributing these materials, credit should be given to Utah State Board of Education. These materials may not be published, in whole or part, or in any other format, without the written permission of the Utah State Board of Education, 250 East 500 South, PO Box 144200, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4200.