Grade 9: Cultural Contexts

Prescribed Learning Outcomes

It is expected that students will:

• apply knowledge of characteristic Punjabi games, sports, crafts, customs, or celebrations to plan and implement a cultural event
• identify ways that knowledge of Punjabi language and culture has affected their daily lives
• demonstrate an appreciation of Punjabi language and culture and its place in local and global communities
• demonstrate an understanding of the significance of particular Punjabi customs, celebrations, and festivals

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

Suggested Instructional Strategies

When students gain an understanding of the importance of traditions in Punjabi culture through interesting activities, they are encouraged to share and accept cultural differences.

• Have students learn or teach a variety of Punjabi folk songs (perhaps with a common theme). (See Appendix G for examples of songs that might be sung at a Punjabi wedding.) Students may plan to perform a concert for another class or for parents, or to be videotaped. If it is a live concert, have students put together a program with program notes.
• Conduct a whole-class brainstorm session to put together a list of possible Punjabi given names. Note that in Punjabi most names can be used for either males or females. Use the list as a springboard for various information-gathering activities, such as:
  • finding out the meanings of names (as an assignment, each student could interview one resource person to find out the meaning of a Punjabi name chosen from the list and a name that is characteristic to another culture)
  • learning what ceremony, if any, accompanies the naming of a child in the Punjabi culture and in another culture (again, by interviewing a resource person)
  • discussing similarities and differences between naming practices in Punjabi and other cultures (whole-class discussion)
• As a comprehensive summary, students could prepare an annotated collage of names.

Suggested Assessment Strategies

At this level, students demonstrate their understanding and appreciation of Punjabi culture through their interest and participation in classroom activities and in their written assignments and projects. Assessment should focus on cultural understanding, rather than on the fluency and precision of the language students use to express their ideas.

• When students practise and present Punjabi folk songs, note and respond to:
  • enthusiasm and commitment
  • ability to collaborate effectively
  • accuracy in singing the lyrics
  • appropriateness of their selections and groupings of songs
  • explanations of the meaning and significance of the songs
• After students have participated in a variety of classroom and research activities about Punjabi names, have them demonstrate what they have learned by preparing individual or partner reports that show:
  • understanding of name meanings and origins
  • awareness of similarities and differences in names and naming ceremonies in different cultures
• As students engage in a variety of cultural activities, watch for evidence that they are able to:
  • obtain information from a variety of Punjabi-speaking resource people
  • connect new information to what they already know about Punjabi and other cultures

Recommended Learning Resources

Print Material

• Bir Bahadar Jagge Di Varta
• Canadian Sikhs: History, Religion and Culture of Sikhs In North America
• Encyclopaedia Of Sikh Religion And Culture
• Golden Temple
• Harimander Sahib (Golden Temple)
• Panja Putran Da Pio
• Punjabis in Canada
• The Sikh Canadians
• The Sikhs

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