FACDIS Italian Lesson Plans 2005

by: Judy Stanley

Greenmont Elementary, Vienna, WV

 

Age Appropriate:  Kindergarten

 

Content standards and Objectives

SS.K.5.2 – recognizes differences in other people, times and cultures

SS.K.4.2 – identify land masses verses bodies of water using a globe or map

RLA.K.2.3 – using writing and other methods for self-expression

RLA.K.2.4 – use a variety of sources to gather information in sharing thoughts and ideas.

 

Introduction – This unit is planned to be used as a pretend vacation to Italy.  The kindergarten class will spend one day preparing for the pretend trip and will create a vacation journal each day of the unit. Students will learn about Italian culture through the study of homes, transportation, food and art.  At the end of the unit students will have a journal as a memento of their pretend vacation to Italy.  

Lesson 1:  preparing for the pretend vacation

 

Objective:  Students will locate Italy on the globe and map. Using the map the students will be able to see the difference between land and water.

 Procedure:

1.      Use a globe to show where we are and where we will be traveling to.  Post a map on bulletin board showing our travel route and highlighting Italy.

2.      Have a small map Italy for each child to color, cut and paste onto page one of travel journal.

3.      Send home pretend passports to be used as a parent child home activity.  Passports will be returned following school day and pasted into travel journal.

 

Evaluation:  Each student will locate Italy on the map and the water mass around the country.

Lesson 2:  Homes

Objective:  Students will be able to tell how their home is alike/different from a typical city home in Italy.

Procedure: 

1.      Begin the lesson by pretending to visit a family living in a city in Italy.  Tell the children that we will be spending the day with our family and staying over night.

2.      Help the children imagine this situation using the book “Italy”, by Jillian Powell.  Read the section on homes and show pictures of typical city dwellings. 

3.      Fold a piece of paper into 2 parts, have the students drawn a picture of their house on one side and their pretend families house on the other side. 

4.      To end the lesson the students share drawings in collaborative pairs and discuss how the homes are alike/different.

5.       Have students add the drawings to their travel journal.  If possible have the students write on the journal page.

 

Evaluation:  The teacher will observe collaborative pairs, listening for discussion on alike and different.

Lesson 3:  Transportation

Objective:  Students will identify different types of travel used in Italy.

Procedure: 

1.  Today we will pretend to travel, first by train and then by boat to a very famous city in Italy called Venice.  Set the scene by talking about train travel and boat travel. 
2. Read the book “The Gondolier of Venice” by Robert Kraus.  Talk about the canals of Venice and discuss this very special transportation. 
3. Have the children color, cut and paste a picture of a colorful gondola into their travel journal.  If possible have the student write a few words in the journal.

Evaluation:  The students will be able to talk about the four different kinds of transportation that were discussed in the lesson. (Walking, car, train, boat)

Lesson 4:  Food

Objective:  The students will recognize that different cultures have different foods.

Procedure:

1.      First set the scene for the day. Let the students know that today they will be visiting a pretend Italian restaurant for lunch. 

2.      Browse through the book “The Young Chef’s Italian Cookbook” by Crabtree Publishing Company, talk about the different foods in the book.   Tell the students our Chef will be preparing a classic Margherita pizza. The pizza was invented in Naples for Queen Margherita of savoy in 1889.

3.      Show the student a picture of a Margherita pizza and read the recipe.  Have the children draw a picture of the pizza and enter it into their travel journal.

4.      To end the lesson the teachers will use the cookbook and make Gelato di crema con salsa al cioccolato.  The gelato will be served as the kindergarten afternoon snack...

 

Evaluation:  The students will share, by telling, three Italian foods with their collaborative pair.

Lesson 5: Art

Objective:  Students will look at pictures of architecture, sculptures and paintings to understand that art is a part of the Italian landscape.

 

Procedure: 

1.      Set the scene for the day by telling the children that we will take a pretend visit to a museum and a castle.

2.      Read the book, “The Life and Work of Leonardo da Vince” by Sean Connolly.  Look at the pictures in the book, “Castle “by Macaulay.  Help the students imagine that they are looking in a museum and walking through castle. 

3.      Using collaborative pairs have the children draw a picture of their partner.  When the pictures are finished each child should sign their art work and give it to their partner.  The art piece will be put in the travel journal.

 

Evaluation:  The students will be able to recognize a castle, sculpture and picture of Leonardo da Vince.

Lesson 6:  Wrap Up

Objective:  The students will watch a slide show of their pretend vacation to Italy.

Procedure:

1. Set the scene for the day, the trip is over, and we will view our pictures of the trip.
2. To review the unit on “Italy and Its culture” the teacher will show slides from the FACDIS trip.
3. Students will share their travel journals with each other and tell about what they like best. 
4. The last page of the journal will be, “what I like best about my vacation.”  

Evaluation:  Each student will orally share their favorite part of the Italy trip.