Name___Brandi Kohne______
Part A.
1. Course:____Introduction to Sociology______
2. Unit Title: Culture: Why ‘normal’ doesn’t really exist.__ Grade Level:____10___
1. I would like to teach an introductory sociology class. It is an academic, 10th grade class. I intend to teach a unit on culture. I want to describe what it is, explain its role in society, discuss various types of cultures (sub culture, counter culture, etc), evaluate its importance in the students daily lives, and examine some key cultural differences that exist in societies across the globe. What I would really like for my students is for them to understand culture not in terms of definitions but in terms of how it affects them. I would like them to be able to make connections to American culture and see how it differs from other cultures. I feel like they will come to a greater sense of global awareness and open their minds to cultural diversity if they can understand more about culture itself. I want them to discard the word ‘normal’ and understand that it is a transient term that means something different to everyone. They should be able to connect the social patterns they exhibit and see every day to overarching themes and concepts that we will discuss. I want them to be able to appreciate the layers and differences in culture; if they can understand culture in a different context then perhaps we can replace value judgments with more understanding and cultivate a sense of tolerance.
I would like to teach an introductory sociology class. It is an academic, 10th grade class. I intend to teach a unit on culture. I will describe what culture is, explain culture’s role in society, discuss various types of cultures (sub culture, counter culture, etc.), evaluate the importance of culture in the students daily lives, and examine some key cultural differences that exist in societies across the globe. The students will be able to understand culture not only in terms of definitions, but also in terms of how it affects them. They will be able to make connections to American culture and draw distinctions about how it differs from other cultures. They will acquire a greater sense of global awareness and open their minds to cultural diversity. They will understand why it is important to discard the word ‘normal’, because it is a transient term that means something different to everyone. They will be able to connect the social patterns they exhibit and see every day to overarching themes and concepts that we will discuss. Perhaps by understanding culture in a different context they will be able to replace value judgments with more understanding and cultivate a sense of tolerance.
List all standards to be addressed in this unit. Include the number and description of each:
2. State (3 to 5):
Standard Number Description
7.3.12 The Human Characteristics of Places and Regions III, V
B.Analyze the significance of human activity in shaping places and regions by their cultural characteristics
This is useful to my unit because culture is the topic of the unit. It will be important for students to understand how that affects where people reside, how that changes from region to region.
8.3.12 United States History III, VI
D. Identify and evaluate conflict and cooperation among social groups and organizations in United States history from 1890 to the Present.
This will be useful in order to discuss culture in terms of social groups. This allows us to cover class, caste, class system, social stratification, etc.
8.4.12 World History II, III, VI
D. Evaluate how conflict and cooperation among social groups and organizations impacted world history from 1450 to Present in Africa, Americas, Asia and Europe.
This allows us to examine culture across the borders and examine how culture changes as you change the environment, history, values and morals of the people. It will be important for the students to understand culture in a global sense and appreciate the differences rather than just studying American culture.
9.2.12 Historical and Cultural Contexts I, II, III, IV, V, VI
D.Analyze a work of art from its historical and cultural perspective.
F.Know and apply appropriate vocabulary used between social studies and the arts and humanities.
9.3.12 Arts and Humanities: Critical response I, II, III, IV, V, VI
Explain and apply the critical examination processes of works in the arts and humanities.
• Compare and contrast
• Analyze
• Interpret
• Form and test hypotheses
• Evaluate/form judgments
D.Analyze and interpret works in the arts and humanities from different societies using culturally specific vocabulary of critical response.
NCSS STANDARDS
Standard Number Description
1. Culture: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of culture and cultural diversity. I, II, III, IV, V, VI
This will be critical to the study of culture in a sociological context. It will allow us to examine all of the vocabulary terms and overarching concepts in the unit.
5. Individuals Groups and Institutions: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions. I, II, III, IV, V, VI
This will be useful in this unit because it will allow us to discuss culture in terms of the way that culture organizes its people. We can explore social mobility, social stratification, class systems, caste systems, primary groups, reference groups, secondary groups, etc. We can discuss culture in terms of subculture and counterculture and the interaction of all of this groups under this heading as well.
9. Global Connections: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of global connections and interdependence. III, V
This is important as we discuss cultures across the globe. Culture is not defined by borders and it is a fluid concept that changes depending on which society one finds oneself in. The idea of culture as an overarching theme that transcends borders is critical to discuss.
4. Individual Development and Identity: Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of individual development and identity. IV, VI
Culture is not just about the society as a whole, it’s about how the individual fits into it as well. I think this standard will allow us to explore roles, role conflict, role strain, and most importantly, allow students to investigate how they personally fit into our culture. This will allow us to connect the material directly to each student and solidify their understanding of the topic by tying it in to their daily lives.
3. Essential Questions. At the end of the unit, what do you want the students to know and be able to do? Very broad questions students should be able to clearly address at the end of the unit:
1. Culture is a blanket term that can be subdivided into many categories. Determine what culture means on a national scale compared to what culture means on an extremely local scale by examining the different subtypes of culture that are prominent at that level.
2. Assess the role culture has in social control by analyzing the ways in which culture dictates social behavior. Decide which 6 cultural components you think are most influential in social control, define and rank them in order of most influential.
3. How society is structured is a large part of how we define its culture. Justify the use of the class system or the caste system based on factors such as social mobility and social stratification and explain why you find the alternate system unfavorable.
4. Culture is not just about the group, but also the individual. Assess the impact the assignment of multiple roles has on an individual and how that affects one’s daily life.
5. American culture is a broad term that does not necessarily mean the same thing everywhere. Culture is about the transmittance of people and ideas. Assess the role the media the plays versus the power of other forces to shape, package, distribute, and diffuse culture.
6. As a member of American culture, you are inherently a member of several groups. Rate the importance of primary, secondary, and reference groups and evaluate that importance in terms of social day to day operations.
4. Vocabulary and definitions and descriptions of importance for the unit. List 25 to 30 names, terms, events, people, documents, etc. that are key components to this unit:
You may change this list of vocabulary as you develop the lesson plans.
1. Culture: the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group I, II, III, IV
2. Sub-Culture: a group having social, economic, ethnic, or other traits distinctive enough to distinguish it from others within the same culture or society I
3. Counter Culture: the culture and lifestyle of those people, esp. among the young, who reject or oppose the dominant values and behavior of society. I
4. Diffusion: the transmission of elements or features of one culture to another V
5. Cultural Lag: slowness in the rate of change of one part of a culture in relation to another part, resulting in maladjustment within society, as from the failure of the nonmaterial culture to keep abreast of developments in the material culture V
6. Norms: a standard, model, or pattern. II
7. Mores: folkways of central importance accepted without question and embodying the fundamental moral views of a group II
8. Sanctions: to impose a sanction on; penalize esp. by way of discipline. II
9. Laws: any written or positive rule or collection of rules prescribed under the authority of the state or nation, as by the people in its constitution; the condition of society brought about by their observance II
10. Deviance: the act of a person or thing deviating or departing markedly from the accepted norm. II
11. Folkways: the ways of living, thinking, and acting in a human group, built up without conscious design but serving as compelling guides of conduct. II
12. Mass Culture: the culture that is widely disseminated via the mass media V
13. Class: a social stratum sharing basic economic, political, or cultural characteristics, and having the same social position III
14. Caste system: a social structure in which classes are determined by heredity III
15. Primary group: a group of individuals living in close, intimate, and personal relationship. VI
16. Secondary group: a group of people with whom one's contacts are detached and impersonal. VI
17. Reference group: a group with which an individual identifies and whose values the individual accepts as guiding principles VI
18. Role: the rights, obligations, and expected behavior patterns associated with a particular social status. IV
19. Role Conflict: emotional conflict arising when competing demands are made on an individual in the fulfillment of his or her multiple social roles IV
20. Social mobility: The ability of individuals or groups to move upward or downward in statusbased on wealth, occupation, education, or some other social variable. III
21. Conformity: Agreement between an individual's behavior and a group's standards or expectations. A conformist is one who follows the majority's desires or standards V
22. Values: the ideals, customs, institutions, etc., of a society toward which the people of the group have an affective regard. These values may be positive, as cleanliness, freedom, or education, or negative, as cruelty, crime, or blasphemy II, IV
23. Morals: of, pertaining to, or concerned with the principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong; ethical II, IV
24. Social Stratification: the hierarchical structures of class and status in any society III
25. Status: The relative position of an individual within a group, or of a group within a society. III
26. Role Strain: the stress or strain experienced by an individual when incompatible behavior, expectations, or obligations are associated with a single social role. IV
5. Culminating project ideas. List and briefly describe three possible projects that students could complete and that enriched the learning of this unit. At least one project must come from the NCSS, Social Education journal (document this project):
1. NCSS project idea and documentation: ------
CREATING A CULTURAL WATERSHED: Diagramming One’s Own Experience of Culture
By: Karen J. Hoelscher published in ©1999 National Council for the Social Studies.
Internet Link: http://publications.socialstudies.org/yl/1202/120203.html
“1. Consider the goal
We are all cultural beings, each of us made up of a rich variety of cultural attributes. The goal of this assignment is for you to create a mural in which a watershed (its land forms and the movement of water upon it) is used as a metaphor for your cultural identity (in all its various aspects) and the course of your life.
2. Contemplate your cultural characteristics
Let’s define culture broadly, as including your family’s place of origin and structure, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, spirituality, religion, language, age, and abilities and handicapping conditions.2 Which characteristics are most prominent in your life? How have they helped you become the unique person you are today? Which cultural elements are not as fully developed or important to you right now? Which ones are missing entirely from your personal landscape? How do your core cultural characteristics work together in your life? How do particular elements cause disturbances or challenges for each other? Which cultural characteristics most define you? Think about how these elements might fit together, like a puzzle.