Geneva College

Beaver Falls, PA
EDU 343
Lesson Plan Format
Name: ____________Alyssa Hunsinger_____________________ Date: __April 7, 2022___
Subject: _____German Culture__________________ Grade Level: ___3rd Grade________
I. Topic
- Synergizing: Working to Incorporate Others Around You
o Promoting the inclusion of a potential German student by learning about their
nation’s customs, cultural norms, and social etiquette.
II. PA or Common Core Standards
Standard - 13.3.3.F: Identify the changes in family and friend's roles at home, at school
and in the community.
Standard - 8.4.3.A: Identify the elements of culture and ethnicity.
Standard - 8.4.3.C: Compare and contrast selected world cultures.
III. Lesson Objectives - Objectives must be written using observable verbs
- TSWBAT compare and contrast the similarities and differences found between the
German culture and the American culture.
- TSWBAT to correctly answer at least 4 out of the 5 questions about German culture by
consulting with their table mates during the Pop Quiz assessment.
IV. Materials
- Teacher Materials
 PowerPoint
 Laptop
 Smartboard
 Lesson Plan
 List of questions
- Student Materials
 Whiteboard
 Marker
V. Lesson Development
A. Introduction
  I will begin by prefacing the lesson with, “Today, we are going to learn
something a little different than usual, but the concept will be beneficial
for us as a class to better incorporate others.”
 I will ask the students,
 “Why do you think it is important to learn about other cultures?”
 “Can anyone see any connections that we can make about
incorporating new cultures by synergizing?”
B. Lesson Development (Activities, Procedures)
 After introducing my lesson, I will make sure that all students are seated at
their desks.
 I will be sure to tell the students to pay attention because there will be a
surprise at the end of my lesson.
 Next, I will start my PowerPoint by going over Germany's physical
location, population, and what Germany is known for.
 I will ask if any students have ever visited Germany before.
 I will add in the fact that I am part German as well.
 Next, I will go over the slide with the German food.
 I will ask, “How would you guys feel if someone brought in these
types of foods at lunch? Do you think a German student would feel
out of place?”
 I will call on a few students to answer before moving on.
 I will explain the morals and etiquette portion of the PowerPoint to the
students.
 I will ask two students to compare and contrast the German idea of
promptness and physical space compared to our American
standard.
 I will then tell the students to nominate one person from each table
grouping to pull out a whiteboard and a marker.
 I will then click to the next slide which has 5 true or false questions on it.
 We will work together as a class through each question. I will read the
question then students will think to themselves, turn to their partners,
share their thoughts, and then come to a group conclusion with an answer.
  We will work through the next 4 questions in the same manner.
 If groups are getting the wrong answers, I'll be sure to reteach specifically
where I stated the answer throughout the PowerPoint.
 I will also ask students to correct the statement if it is false with the proper
answer given their new knowledge of the German culture by stating why
the statement is false.
C. Evidence of Differentiated Instruction (Content, Process, Products, or
Learning Environment)
 Content: Groupings will likely take different routes and guide the
conversations differently when questions are posed. They may come to
complete different conclusions given the sharing strategy which could
potentially alter the content that is discussed, therefore, differentiating
because students may have different past experiences to highlight or talk
about.
D. Closure (Summary)
 I will conclude the lesson by saying, “As you can see, there are many
differences in the German culture compared to our culture. By learning
this new information, we can better educate ourselves to help incorporate
and include a new student.”
 I will ask, “Why do you think it is important for us to understand how the
German culture works when attempting to include a new student into our
class? Has there ever been a time where you did not feel included?”
 Several students will raise their hands to give their individual answers to
the concluding question.
 I will end by saying, “See, it is so important for us to understand one
another by learning which is something that we can even practice with
each other for when we do get a student from another culture.”

VI. Assessment/Evaluation
- Formative: Throughout the instruction portion of the lesson, I will be asking students
questions to gauge their understanding of each concept found within the German culture
by comparing each topic to the American culture. Questions that I ask will likely be
situational regarding a new student and how the class could better incorporate the student
 or understand their actions and gestures. During this time, I will ask groups (table
clusters) of students the questions rather than single each student out individually.
- Summative: At the end of my lesson, I will have a short Pop Quiz which will require
them to remember what I have just taught them. Students will use their whiteboards and
markers to write the answers of the three questions. As we go through each question, I
will be jotting down if groups miss questions.
VII. Modifications and Accommodations
- I will make sure that everyone is in their seats during the instruction portion of my lesson
because Chase and Zander cannot handle being away from their desks while also trying
to listen.
- I will also make sure that the table groupings have an appropriate combination of both
advanced students and learning support students at each group.
- I also phrased the questions using simpler vocabulary for both my learning support
students and my EL in my classroom.
VIII. Interdisciplinary Connections
- I tied in our monthly habit of synergizing at Evans city which teaches the students how to
work together as a group for a common goal. This tied into the lesson because the
students would likely come together as a class to better incorporate a German student in
the future.
- We also have been working on comparing and contrasting in our writing which will also
be practiced through my questioning during my lesson instruction.
IX. Adaptation for your EL
- Think-Pair-Pod-Share: I incorporated this strategy into my lesson to allow my EL to
formulate his or her own thoughts, share with a partner, and come to a group conclusion
to share with the class. This allowed my EL to use his or her strengths while speaking the
English language in a smaller group setting. The EL also had the opportunity to share
their conclusions with the class, or another member of the group would share.
- In addition, I also used my German culture PowerPoint to help the students understand
another culture and how to better incorporate the specific student into our classroom. For
this, I went back into my PowerPoint and simplified the terms that I used in order to help
the EL better understand the main concepts that I wanted the students to grasp.
X. ELs Proficiency Level
 Listening: Level 4 Expanding
  Speaking: Level 3 Developing
 Reading: Level 3 Developing
 Writing: Level 3 Developing
XI. Self-Evaluation
- Personally, I did not fully understand the struggles that ELs have every day while
learning our language in the beginning. When I attended the Spanish speaking church, I
realized that learning a new language may be very frustrating at times. Just like an EL in
my classroom, new students may be uncomfortable, frustrated, and may shut down at
times. I also realized through this course that I may not hit every strength of my EL in
every adaptation that I attempt to use. Therefore, this means that I may only be able to
utilize one or two of their strengths in either listening, speaking, reading, or writing when
trying to educate them properly. All in all, this course has shown me the importance of
gaining knowledge through outside research and utilizing strategies in order to help an
EL learn effectively in my classroom.
- I thought that my adaptation was appropriate for my ELs proficiency in both listening and
speaking. My student has significant strengths in both listening and speaking when
attempting to analyze and apply oral language and to offer solutions to specific problems.
I thought that the strategy that I used was beneficial for my EL because it allowed them
to expand their ability to listen to instructions and to my overall lesson while also
expanding their ability to discuss concepts while speaking. In addition, I thought that the
strategy was also beneficial for the other students as well if some of them were confused
about the new concept or the instructions.
- If I taught this lesson again, I would allow my EL to work in smaller groups rather than
in a group of four to five students. I think groups of two would be more challenging for
my EL, but it would show me specifically how well the student works with a partner,
how well the student communicates with other classmates, and what areas I need to focus
on in the future to help my EL practice the English language while learning in my
classroom.
XII. Justification
- This lesson promoted the inclusion of my EL because it allowed the student to capitalize
on their strengths from their past experiences. The student was able to share his or her
experiences when they first came to America as well. They could discuss with their
partners the complications and struggles that they came to when learning a new language
and joining a new culture. They also would be able to bring a different perspective to the
discussion as a class because they understand first-hand what it is like to be emerged into
a new culture. I adapted this lesson to allow my EL to speak with his or her classmates
during the class discussion. They would be able to contribute to the group discussion
without needing to fully come up with their own thoughts or ideas for a final answer if
they struggled to listen during the instruction. They also will be able to think on their
own, talk with their partners, and come to a group conclusion that will allow them to
answer collectively as a whole. The EL would not feel pressured into speaking or saying
the wrong thing in front of the entire class. In addition, this lesson promotes the inclusion
of my EL because it teaches the other students how to better incorporate students with
different ethnicities and backgrounds. Therefore, the students in the class would likely
take the time that is needed to understand the culture and background of the specific EL
in the classroom.