HGA | ASGI00

Garb and Grub Across the Globe
Sonya Ah Chong
Grade 1
June 19, 2000

Purpose:

In my first grade class, we primarily focus on how each student relates to the world around them: town, island, state, and country. We look at location and where our islands are compared to our country and the continent of North America. This leads into learning all seven continents and four oceans. The students also find out where their ancestors came from and locate those countries on the map.

At this point, I felt it was important to look at the differences and similarities of each continent to gain a deeper understanding and connection. This would also prepare them for their studies in second grade when they look at Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands in depth. In this lesson, the students will become familiar with the traditional clothing and foods of each continent.

Focus Questions:

Primary Question: What are the similarities and differences in the traditional clothing of each continent?

Secondary Question: What are the similarities and differences in the foods of each continent?

Geographic Standards:

1. Places and Regions:

That people create regions to interpret Earth's complexity.

How culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions.

2. World in Spatial Terms:

How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective.

Knowledge:

The geographically informed person know and understands:

1. The similarities and differences among regions.

2. How to display spatial information on maps.

Student Objectives:

The students will:

1. Compare and contrast traditional clothing and foods from differnt regions.

2. Use the maps to show information.

Geographic Skills/Thinking Skills and Behaviors:

Asking and Answering Geographic Questions:

How are traditional clothing and foods similar and different on each continent?

Where do the traditional clothing and foods come from?

Acquire Geographic Information:

Gather information from a variety of books and pictures.

Organizing Geographic Information:

Place pictures of traditional clothing and foods on correct continents.

Analyzing Geographic Information:

Complete Venn diagram to show similarities and differences in traditional clothing and foods of two continents.

Create a generalization based on the Venn diagram.

Lesson Can Be Used With:

Where in the World is _______________?

This lesson can also be an introduction to the culture, environment, etc. of any continent.

Materials Needed:

World Map

Pictures of people in traditional clothing from each continent

Pictures of foods from each continent

Resources for finding clothes and foods (books)

Paper dolls worksheets (3 per student)

Venn diagram (1 for every 4 students, or more if needed)

Pencils, colored pencils, crayons, markers

Tape

Evaluation form (1 per student)

Food Samples

Vocabulary:

Traditional:

1. Of or relating to tradition: handed down from age to age without writing

2. Based on order, code or practice accepted from the past

Region: a large tract of land, an administrative area, division or district

Procedure: (3-4 days to complete)

Introduction:

1. Review the seven continents and four oceans by finding them on the map and singing the continents song.

2. Tell the students that they will be learning a little bit more about each continent and will see how their traditional clothing and foods are similar and different.

3. Define the words traditional and region.

Activities:

1. Pass out pictures of people in traditional clothing and have the students move around to place them into groups by regions. Each child will get about 2-3 pictures.

2. Discuss the similarities and differences that they see in each group. See whether they want to move any pictures and discuss why.

3. Have the students identify what continent they think each group belongs to and tape the pictures on to the map. (Antarctica is not included)

4. Pass out resources (books) for the children to look through to confirm or change their predictions. Have them move the pictures if needed and explain to their classmates why they are moving the picture or why it should stay on that region.

5. When the students are done placing the pictures on the map. Confirm each picture and point out the country where that person is from. Again discuss the similarities and differences that they see in the traditional clothing from each continent.

6. Tell the students that they will be drawing the traditional clothing on a paper doll, one for each continent. (A total of six, we will not be doing Antarctica.) Pass out the paper doll worksheet and tell them to make sure that they write the name of the continent on the back of each doll.

7. As the students finish, have them work in groups to complete a Venn diagram, comparing and contrasting the traditional clothing of two of the six continents.

8. Tell the students that they are now going to look at the traditional foods from different regions and try to match them with the correct continent.

9. Pass out pictures of traditional foods to each student and have them predict and place it on the map. Discuss reasons for their prediction and what prior knowledge they may have used from the clothing.

10. Have samples of foods from different continents and have the students observe and try the dishes to predict where they come from. At this time confirm or move the pictures of the foods to the correct continents. Again discuss whether their predicitons of the samples are correct or not.

11. Have the students evaluate the different foods by using their senses to describe how it looks, smells, and tastes. Then write about which one they liked best and why.

Assessment:

1. Observations of picture placements on map.

2. Oral discussions.

3. Accurate representation of traditional clothing of regions on paper dolls.

4. Venn diagrams to compare and contrast two of the continents.

5. Evaluation sheets of foods from different regions.

Extensions:

1. Continue looking at differences and similarities fo other aspects of the continents such as: housing, climate, games, etc.

2. Have guest speakers from different regions come to talk about traditional clothing and foods. (Have them dress in their traditional clothing).

References and Resources:

1."Children Just Like Me" by Barnabas & Anabel Kindersley (Unicef)

2. "Country Fact Files: Australia" by Robert J. Allison

3. "Let's Discover People and Customs" by Raintree Publications

4. "A World of Difference Series":