Unit Title: Middle East Unit

Lesson Title: Culture in the Middle East

Curriculum Area (s): Social

Author: Angela Dover

Grade Level: 7th grade

Author Contact:
amdove7727@ung.edu
Instructional Groupings:

Studies

Time Required: 3-4 days

Whole Class discussion, Individual

Assignment

Parts of Novel Study assignment addressed in this lesson:

Content-Related Lesson and Activity
Standards:
SS7G8: The student will describe the diverse cultures of the people who live in Southwest
Asia
(Middle East).
ELACC6-8RH7: Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or
maps)
with other information in print and digital texts.
ELACC6-8WHST7: Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a selfgenerated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused
questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
ELACC6-8WHST8: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources,
using search terms
effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the
data and conclusions of
others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation

Objectives: The students will research the culture and issues people
may have due to their culture.
Materials: Anchor Chart
Technological device
Materials for presentation choice
Overview: This assignment is used to analyze different cultures by where they
live. Using the issues stated in Thirteen Reasons Why as an anchor, the students
will pick a Middle Eastern country and research what issues may arise for people
who live in that country. The students will present their finding to the class.

How will I differentiate? The product of this lesson is differentiated. The

students will chose what style they would like to use to present their findings to the
class.

As a result of this lesson/unit students willunderstand the issues

that people deal with because of the cultural environment in which
they live.
Understand (big ideas, principles, generalizations, rules, the point of the discipline or
topic within
the discipline)

The students will be able to recognize the impact that culture has on an individual
regardless of where the individual lives. The students will develop research skills to
find information regarding a topic. The students will use critical thinking skills and
creative skills to construct a presentation for the class.
EQ: How does culture impact lives in the Middle East?

Know
Culture
Peer Pressure
Religion
Suicide
Environment
Do (Skills)

The students will be researching during this assignment and choosing how they will
present their information to the class. This will be assessed with a rubric.

PreAssessment

A mini lesson/class discussion will start the class. Students and the teacher will
discuss some of the issues that occurred that impacted Hannahs life and the
decisions she made in Thirteen Reasons Why. The teacher will then direct the
discussion to help students think about how culture impacts people in different
areas all over the world. The research assignment will be discussed and assigned at
this time.

Steps in the Lesson:

This will be an individual assignment for the students to complete. The students will
be given a graphic organizer where they will brainstorm for this assignment. The
students will write questions that they want to find the answers to while researching
the country. This will be the time for students to pick an issue they want to research
about as well.
The students will have a cup to draw a slip pf paper from at the beginning. The cup
contains the country in which they will researching. At this point, the students will
start the researching process using their graphic organizers to help record their
findings.
Once the research is complete, the students will choose ow they would like to
present the information to the class.
The students will have time to work on their presentations before it is time t share
what they learned.
The presentations will be assessed with a rubric.

Closure Activity/Wrap up:

At the end of the presentation period of this lesson, the students will then write
down on a post-it note their answer to the Essential Question asked in the
beginning discussion:
EQ: How does culture impact lives in the Middle East?
The students will put their name on the back of the post-it and highlight their name
with the highlighter attached to the door to ensure that it is on their paper.
The students will then stick their post-its on the door before leaving.

PostAssessment:

Based on the answers the students give for the EQ, the teacher will determine of a
review is necessary before moving on to the next part of the learning segment.

Additional Resources:
Map of the Middle East
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/melargez.htm
Graphic Organizer
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/FreeDownload/Getting-Ready-toResearch-1785925