Elementary Education Program

Department of Teacher Education & Learning Sciences

Lesson Plan

Name: Sophie Moffatt

Learning Objectives: What are your learning objectives? (What new understandings will the
students have as a result of this lesson? Make sure learning objectives are measurable.)
 Students will be able to define culture and recognize diversity among different groups of
people and individuals
 Students will be able to communicate with a global pen pal to create a presentation based
off of their cultural identities
 Students will be able to explain how they are the same as and different from other people

Standards:
GLOBAL COLLABORATOR 7- Students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and
enrich their learning by collaborating with others and working effectively in teams locally and
globally.
PE.5.PR.4.3- Understand the importance of culture and ethnicity in developing self-awareness
and working productively with others.
NL.CLL.4- Compare the students’ culture and the target culture.
W.5.4- With guidance and support from adults, use digital tools to produce writing while
interacting and collaborating with others.
Assessment: Describe your assessment plan for the targeted learning objective(s). What
specific data/information will you use, and how will that data/information tell you that the
students have/have not met the objective?

Students will be able to explain how they are the same as and different from other people, as
seen in a read aloud. Students will be able to define culture and recognize diversity after our read
aloud discussion and learning activity, comparing their own culture to a target culture through
 Elementary Education Program
Department of Teacher Education & Learning Sciences

global pen pals. After the read aloud, students will discuss with turn-and-talk partners what they
learned from the book and the various ways people can differ from one another. The teacher will
listen in on conversations, providing supporting questions if needed, to formatively assess
students’ thinking. After they make a list of the various ways people differ from one another
(language, food, family, traditions, customs, religion, etc.), have students brainstorm
independently in their notebooks the way they identify with those categories.

Students will receive a global pen pal that they will communicate with to share their culture and
learn about their pen pal’s culture. For this lesson specifically, the main summative assessment
point will be an introductory letter each student prepares to send to their pen pal. The letter
should demonstrate writing skills and the understanding of culture and diversity through their
own personal life experiences and the questions they ask their pen pal.

**The culminating final project will be a class presentation where students are required to use a
digital tool (PowerPoint, video etc.) to share what they learned from their pen pals, how it
supports the ideas of culture, diversity and identity, and how they are the same/different, as well
as exhibiting their writing and oral presentation skills.

Vocabulary/Language Function: Define vocabulary that students will need to know in order
to access the content and goals of your lesson.
 Culture- the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation,
people, or other social group
 Customs- traditions and habits of a group of people
 Namaste- Sanskrit word for “I bow to you”, a respectful greeting
 Diversity- understanding that each individual is unique and recognizing our individual
differences; a set of conscious practices that involve understanding and appreciating
interdependence of humanity, cultures, and the natural environment.
 Global- relating to the whole world; worldwide.
 Identity- the distinguishing character or personality of an individual

Lesson Development: Discuss the hook/engage/launch, prior knowledge needed, step by step
in real time, include questions you will ask in real time, scaffolding needed, closure/revisiting
learning objectives. Remember, a detailed lesson plan is specific enough for another teacher
to read and teach effectively. There should not be any question regarding what to do or how to
do it.
Launch (5min):
- “Good morning friends! Can I please have everyone join me on the carpet for today’s
read aloud? Today’s story is REALLY important, and it is going to tie into what we are
going to be working on for the next few weeks. It is all about sharing our unique
differences with other people and learning that, although we have these differences, we
can also have a lot of things in common with other people.”
 Elementary Education Program
Department of Teacher Education & Learning Sciences

- “Our story has two main characters—Elliot and Kailash. These two boys live on opposite
sides of the world but write letters back and forth to learn more about each other and their
cultures! Does anyone know the word culture?” (if anyone raises their hands, have them
share out, then explain the definition, also explaining the word customs since it is in the
definition of culture.) “Our cultures help create our personal identities, which means our
personality and who we are. So, we are going to read to learn about each of their cultural
identities and then work to discover our own.”
- “Hopefully, these important big idea words, which can be found on our Word Wall, got
you thinking about how you would define yourself as we start reading. Can I have a few
volunteers share one part of their identity? Remember how important it is that we respect
other people’s identities as well as our own.”
I Do (10min):
After the launch, the teacher will teacher will describe the students’ job during the read aloud.
“As we read, I want you to notice all of the different ways our two friends are different because
we will list them out as a class. Your other job is to think about what you think the author is
trying to tell us with this story.” The teacher will then say, “Let’s start our story for today and
remember your jobs as a reader as I read out loud so we can discuss after.” The students will then
listen as the teacher begins to read the text, Same, Same but Different, by Jenny Sue Kostecki-
Shaw. The teacher should model fluency and accuracy while reading the text and have students
read the phrase, “Same, same but different,” along with the teacher every time it shows up in the
text (pg. 4, 15, 18, 20, 22, 24). The teacher should stop at the following pages to promote critical
thinking and point out important parts:
Pg. 4- We are going to hear this phrase a lot throughout the book and I want you to say it with
me. What do you think it means by “same, same but different”?

Pg. 6- Does anyone here like to climb trees? See, we do some of the same things at them too!
Except Kailash’s trees look a little different than Elliot’s and maybe ours too—we don’t see
many monkeys in our trees do we!

Pg. 8- That is a big family isn’t it! Some cultures have big families that live together, but others
may only have a few. Can you make a connect with Elliot or Kailash’s family?

Pg. 22- Look at that alphabet! It doesn’t look like ours, but that’s because it is in a different
language. Language is a big part of culture and how people communicate!

Pg. 24- Has anyone done yoga before? Some religions and cultures do this to meditate and it is a
very important part of their life.

Pg. 26- Namaste is a respectful greeting in the Sanskrit language that means “I bow to you.”
What a great way to say hello to people! Can we all try this?

Wow! Elliot and Kailash were great friends even across the globe isn’t that amazing! Now, let’s
see if you did your job as readers. Discuss what the students think the author was trying to tell
 Elementary Education Program
Department of Teacher Education & Learning Sciences

us. Right! They had a lot of differences, but did you see how they were still friends and had a lot
in common? Then have everyone go back to their seats for the activity.

We Do (5min):
As a class, list out the different areas the author showed differences between the characters
(language, family, greeting, etc.) on large chart paper. Have students share out their ideas from
the book, and then ideas that were not included. Students should be able to see how people are
different, but also have many similarities. The teacher should emphasize that although we are all
different, we must be respectful, inclusive, and kind to all people. Have students turn and talk to
their table partners to discover ways in which they are similar and different. If time allows, have
each pair share one way they and their partner are similar or different.

You Do (10min):
At this point, the teacher should introduce the Global Pen Pals project (note: the teacher should
have established these pen pals already, reaching out to schools/teachers in other countries using
ePals or some other form of communication to create pairs between their own students and their
global students). Explain what a pen pal is, what country/area they are working with (show on
map, defining global) and the purpose of it, which is to learn about students from other
countries/cultures/backgrounds different from our own. Connect this to Same, same but different
since they are performing the same activity Elliot and Kailash did (pen pals). At this time,
students should begin drafting their first letter to their pen pal, introducing who they are, giving a
little background about them and asking questions. If using ePals, letters can be drafted on the
computer, or they can be pictures of a handwritten letter.

The teacher should remind students to be respectful and kind while writing their letters, thinking
about how everyone is different in unique ways. Encourage them to get creative, drawing
pictures, sharing stories, etc.

Closure (5 minutes):
Once students have had a chance to write their letters, reconvene as a whole class. Ask them
what one thing is that they are excited to learn from their pen pal/one thing they wonder. Have
students share out loud. With the remaining time, the teacher should give each student a folder
that they are told to put THEIR name and their PEN PAL’S name on the front cover. This will be
to put all of their letters, thoughts, brainstorming, ideas, etc. into for the entirety of the project.
Conclude the lesson by saying, “The rest of this week we will work on finalizing these letters
and sending them out/emailing them out to our pen pals. Once we hear back, we will read what
they share, thinking about what we have in common and what is special for each of them! I hope
you are as excited to learn about your pen pals as I am!”