J Gore

Multicultural Lesson Plan

The multicultural education approach: The multicultural education approach addresses a reform of not just the classroom, but the entire school, in order to provide equal opportunity and cultural pluralism for all of its students.

The goals of the multicultural education approach:1. To promote an understanding, appreciation, and acceptance of cultural diversity in the

United State.2. To promote alternative choices for people, with full affirmation of their race, gender,

disability, language, religion, sexual orientation, and social class background.3. To help all children achieve academic success.4. To promote awareness of social issues involving the unequal distribution of power and

privilege that limits the opportunity of those not in the dominant group.(Turning on Learning. p. 178)

Name of Plan: Why College?

Subject Area: Guidance/College Search Process Course

Grade: 11 or 12

Time: Two Weeks

Objectives: Students will learn about the college search process and how it can be different at various

institutions and for different cultural groups Students will understand that self interest is a motivating force in people’s growth and

development toward a better quality of life Students will identify and discuss their own self-interest behaviors for wanting to attend

college Students will compare and contrast the motivations and self-interest behaviors of various

student populations Students will relate their own motivation and self-interest behaviors toward attending

college to those of other student populations

Suggested Procedures:

1. Discuss with students the importance of attending an institution of higher education. Explain that there are different types of institutions that offer various types of certificates and degrees, depending on what the student wants to do as a career. Stress that everyone can attend college and that not everyone will choose the same type of institution. Also explain that the application process is very different amongst institutions of higher education.

J Gore

2. Organize students into six diverse groups and have each group research and report on a different type of institution and how their application process works, including but not limited to the various steps in the process, the competitiveness of the applicant pool, standardized test that are required, essay components, minimum GPA, deadlines, and decisions that could be rendered. The groups will report on one of the following types of institutions:

Technical College Junior or 2-Year College 4-Year College/University Private College/University Women’s College/University Historically Black College or UniversityIn addition, each group will highlight and discuss information pertaining to the size, location, cost, degrees offered, most popular fields of study, extracurricular activities, athletics and any other information of importance

3. Have students compose a 500-word essay on their self-interest and motivation for attending college titled, “Why I Want to Attend College.”

4. Show students one of the following documentaries on the college search and selection process: 1) First Generation, 2) In 500 Word of Less, 3) The Graduates, or any other documentary that relates to the topic.

5. As a class, have students discuss their own self-interest and motivations for attending college. Then, have the class compare and contrast their self-interest and motivational reasons with those of the students in the documentary.

6. Have students evaluate their pre-documentary essay “Why I Want to Attend College.” After re-evaluating their essay, have the students compose a longer essay that compares and contrasts their self-interests and motivations to attend college with those of other cultural populations including both dominant and marginalized groups. They should also discuss how their view on the importance of higher education as been altered, if at all, based on watching the documentary. This will be their post-documentary essay titled “What Applying to College Means to Others.”

Evaluation: Assess each group’s accuracy and understanding of the college application process in an

oral presentation Assess each student’s ability to work cooperatively in a small and large group Evaluate the classes’ success in identifying self-interest and motivation for attending

college for diverse student populations Assess each student’s post-documentary essay for understanding of cultural diversity for

why and how students make the decision to attend college compared to their own Assess each student’s written essay for proper spelling and grammar and that they

express their views in a clear and concise manner