Thematic Unit – Raising Global Awareness

UNIT: BASIC INFORMATION
Content area: Interdisciplinary Theme Unit
Grade Level: Variable

Goals:

• Focus the student’s interests in the greater world.
• Encourage higher order thinking using reflective inquiry
• Capture wonder and excitement through interactive subject matter of a culture.
• Emphasize the student as a world citizen.
• Provide a variety of hands on activities to get students involved in problem solving.
• Promote problem solving through open-ended and extended- answer questions.
• Involve child in discussion on current issues.
• Promote cooperative problem solving activities.
• Expand the student’s horizon of a culture through storytelling, research, art, economics, and practical activities.

Objectives Visual Art:

• Recognize that visual rhythm can be achieved be repetition of color, shape, value, and overlapping shapes
• Recognize symmetrical (equal and unequal balance in a two- dimensional composition)

Objectives Social Studies:

• Recognize issues and concern of community
• Know the use of physical and political maps
• Recognize the world’s people depend on each other for resources, protection, and the solution of problems.
• Recognize historical/ cultural contributions of different societies through time

Objectives Language Arts:

• Improve mechanical writing skills
• The student will locate and apply information using reference, study, and life skills
• Compose original paragraphs
• Compose original letters
• Compose a newspaper article (interview each other)

Objectives Math:

• Measurement (yard, inches, half inch, and quarter inch)-measuring quilt square, sashing of fabric between quilt squares…measure finished quilt,
• Counting quilt squares…counting money earned to get the quilt quilted and sent
• Adding squares needed to make a certain size quilt

Supporting Activities

Discussion of where quilts will go

• Decide to make a quilt to warm the children/orphans
• Discuss what should be on a friendship quilt

Discuss what would make a child happy to sleep under

• No violent images (nothing to scare children – no airplanes, helicopters, tanks, trucks, etc.)
• Non-denominational (do not try to change their religion)
• Nonpolitical (nothing to scare children – no political images or flags, etc.)

Draw paper picture (teacher proofs)

Draw picture on fabric

Write letters to children

Map work – finding the United States, Afghanistan, China, India, Iraq, Israel, Romania, South Africa, Swaziland, Tibet, Zambia or other countries

Expectations

• A basic foundation knowledge of map reading
• Ability to acquire and use information
• Ability to make decisions
• Ability to make judgments
• Ability to communicate verbally, manually, and artistically
• Readiness for social participation

Interdisciplinary Activities: Raising Global Awareness

Grade level: Adaptable
Unit length: variable (one hour to two weeks)

Academic Plan:

• School Calendar
• Materials to be taught (taken from the Tennessee Comprehensive Curriculum guide, Core Curriculum Guidelines, and other resources)

I. Social Studies: geography, history, economics, current events
II. Science: earth science, earth, land forms, weather
III. Language Arts: writing skills, thinking skills, note taking, punctuation
IV. Math: Counting change measuring to the nearest inch, half inch, quarter inch
V. Art: patterns, symmetry, color placement, color coordination, historical and cultural contribution

Class Schedule: variable

Instructional Objectives: (see outline)

Assessment: Letter writing, teacher observation of contributions during classroom
discussion and group participation, pictures on paper and cloth.