ASIA
A Unit for First Grade
ASIA
A Unit for First Grade
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Curriculum Objectives |
The study of the largest continent on earth should be an interdisciplinary one, filled with lessons to help the children learn about the countries and cultures that are a part of such a rich area of our world. The lessons should include:
The lessons of this unit that meet these curriculum objectives are
as follows:
| Lesson One—Where is Asia?
Materials
The students will find which continent cutout they are given by searching through an atlas. The students work in teams to find the answer, then they write their answers to the questions on the question sheet. After going over the answers, have the children glue their continent cutouts on folders and decorate them to use as their "Asia Folder". The class then meets on the rug in their groups and uses the information they learned about Asia to do an information web.
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| Lesson Two—Where has Flat Stanley
Been in Asia?
Materials
The students will work in their groups to figure out which countries in Asia Flat Stanley has been to. They should write down the countries on the Flat Stanley information sheet. Allow 15 minutes for this while the teachers circulate. Have the groups meet on the rug, and come up with a list of the countries that Flat Stanley has been to. Guide them through this process, so they can figure out whether the counties are in Asia or not. The teacher should know ahead of time all the countries so that none are missed. If Flat Stanley has not traveled widely in Asia, have the children do the Where in the World has Flat Stanley Been Sheet. They will use atlases to tell which countries on the sheet are in Asia. An overhead of the sheet may be needed to lead the students in finding the answers if they are unable to do it independently.
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| Lesson Three—Where Have We Been in
Asia?
Prior Preparation
Materials
Have the students listen to the parent and child tell of their experiences, listen to music, try food, watch the PowerPoint presentation, fill out the what I learned question for each county. Take pictures to put the guest speakers "on the map". (See the Literature Extension section for the bulletin board procedure.) I was lucky to have parents and kids who came in to talk about the following places: Guest Speakers
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| Lesson Four—Purim Math
Materials
To combine the study of the countries in Asia with the the first grade study of Celebrations, read On Purim. Locate Israel and "Persia" on the map. Talk about the evolution of country's names. Our class combined the study of Purim with geometry by making triangular hamantashin cookies. The students learn about three different kinds of triangles: a right triangle, an equilateral triangle and a scalene triangle. They can try and make these triangles with their cookies. |
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| Lesson Five—Everyone Eats Rice
Materials
Read Everybody Eats Rice. Talk about how many of the characters in the books they read about Asia ate rice. Ask the children if they think all rice in the same. Have them work in groups of 4-5 to observe the bags of rice. They will draw each kind, and write a description of it on the Rice Worksheets. Use One Grain of Rice to talk about the importance of rice as a main staple and for use as a math extension.
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| Literature Extensions
Materials
Collect books from as many Asian countries as possible. Create a book display and read them as part of classroom Read Aloud times. Ask for volunteers to “paste a book” on the Read Your Way Through Asia Map. Attach the book to the county with the pins and yarn if necessary. Give each child a blank Asia passport (a paper booklet with lines for writing and a square for drawing). Have the students fill in the name of the country for each book you read, the title of the book, and draw a picture. Then, use the stamp to "stamp them through customs". The book list is as follows (but is not limited to): India
I is for India by Prodeepta Das One Grain of Rice by Demi
Korea
The Princess and the Beggar adapted by Anne Sibley O'Brien
China
Japan
The Peach Boy by Eric Metaxas (Video)
Vietnam
Israel / Persia (Iran)
Cambodia
Thailand
Saudi Arabia
Russia
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I feel that in order to evaluate the degree to which a lesson worked
in the classroom it is imperative to listen wo what the children are saying
about it. The following are excerpts from my weekly classroom newspaper.
(My students love exclamation points!) The children write about what
they are learning. These are some of the things they have found important
enough to mention.
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Feedback From the Other Side of the School Yard To further evaluate my unit, I asked several of my student's parents
to give me feedback. Some of the parents were involved with the teaching
of the unit as guest speakers, and some learned what we did mainly through
talking with their children about "what you did in school today".
Look for more feedback to be posted soon
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