Module 3: Cultural Preservation
In this lesson, students will explore the rich cultural history of Indigenous and rural communities. This history is held in high regard, even to a sacred level, for these groups. America has been home to Indigenous people for thousands of years. Additionally, rural communities have their own traditions, but this heritage and its transmission from one generation to the next has not historically been protected.
Lesson Overview
- Can a community preserve its culture while embracing modernization?
Middle School
Three one-day lessons; One summative assessment
- Identify cultural traditions that Indigenous and rural communities hold.
- Analyze primary- and secondary-source documents to engage in a civil-discourse model.
- Participate in a Paideia Seminar to gain a fuller understanding of how culture and traditions have shaped the lives of generations of rural and tribal communities.
- Students demonstrate their understanding of cultural preservation, and why it is important to preserve Indigenous and rural traditions and customs.
- Students will explore cultural ties to food and the land that Indigenous and rural Americans are striving to preserve for future generations.
- Students will explore cultural ties to crafts, language, and the arts that Indigenous and rural Americans are striving to preserve for future generations.
- Students will participate in a Paidea seminar and report their observations to their teacher and to the class.
- Teachers may assess by using the Assessment Rubric.
Students will participate in self-reflection by completing the Inquiry Reflection Tool.
- Active listening
- Analyzing evidence
- Civic engagement
- Civic identity
- Civic mindedness
- Civic responsibility
- Close reading
- Collaboration
- Critical thinking
- Empathy
- Open mindedness
- Patience
- Respectful communication
- Self-reflection
- Social awareness
- Active listening
- Analyzing evidence
- Civic engagement
- Civic identity
- Civic mindedness
- Civic responsibility
- Close reading
- Collaboration
- Critical thinking
- Empathy
- Open mindedness
- Patience
- Respectful communication
- Self-reflection
- Social awareness
Students will develop social awareness and self-awareness by reflecting on their contributions, setting goals, and participating in discussions that require active listening, empathy, and respect for diverse perspectives.
*Note: This SEL focus will be further articulated in alignment with the lesson below*
*Note: This SEL focus will be further articulated in alignment with the lesson below*
Center for Civic Education
We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution (Level 2)
- Unit 5, Lesson 27: How does the Constitution protect the right to due process of law?
Educating for American Democracy Roadmap
Theme 3: We the People:
- Evaluate the extent to which marginalized groups have won incorporation into “the people” and advanced the shared values and principles of the U.S.
Theme 7: A People with Contemporary Debates & Possibilities:
- Understand how fundamental American principles—and continuing debates about them—shape current policy debates
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework
- D2.Eco.1.9-12. Analyze how economic decisions affect the well-being of individuals, businesses, and society.
Common Core Standards for Literacy in Social Studies
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.3: Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.7: Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea.
