Grade 5: Understanding Culture and Society

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

• identify elements of their own and their classmates' cultural backgrounds
• identify characteristics of Deaf culture

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Foundations in other grades click on an icon below.

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

• Ask students to share information on their cultures with classmates, including the special foods they eat, celebrations, and culturally significant objects relating to their heritage. Students can then organize displays to introduce their classmates to their cultures. Displays could include samples or demonstrations, personal objects, brief explanations of special traditions, or photos.
• Provide a large map of the world and have students use push-pin flags to mark their families' regions of origin. They might add their own names to the map and the names of family members who came from those locations.
• Model features of Deaf culture in the classroom (e.g., create a well-lit visual atmosphere that fosters communication). Encourage students to use appropriate Deaf behaviours such as foot stomping, hand waving, and other attention-getting techniques in their daily activities.
• Have students create collages or murals that represent what they know and have learned about ASL and Deaf culture. (Their collages or murals will be pictorial and may include some pictorial representations of familiar ASL signs.) Encourage them to add to their artwork over a period of time as they learn more about the culture.
• Incorporate into the classroom visual devices used by Deaf people in their homes. Have students create floor plans to show where they would set up lights and TTYs in the classroom or in their homes.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

• When students present their cultural displays, note the extent to which they:
  • include key features from their own cultures
  • attempt to engage their classmates' interest
  • respond to questions by elaborating or clarifying information
  • ask questions of other students to extend their understanding
  • listen attentively
  • support and encourage one another
• As students share their family heritage in class, have other class members complete simple response sheets with information such as the name of the student, the country of family origin, traditional food, and interesting facts. After the presentations are completed, ask students to review their records and identify five similarities and five differences between their own customs and those of other students. Look for evidence that students are interested in the cultural backgrounds of others and are able to accurately record information about them.
• Encourage self-assessment by asking students to keep up-to-date personal records of Fascinating Facts About ASL and Deaf Culture using symbols, drawings, and other graphics. Have students review their Fascinating Facts from time to time in response to prompts such as:
  • What are the two most surprising or unusual facts in your record?
  • When you look over the facts in your record, what questions about Deaf culture come to mind? How could you find the answers?

• Bravo ASL! Curriculum

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