Material vs Non-Material Culture – Acadian Reading

This middle school social studies lesson has three parts to help teach your students the difference between material and non-material culture.

• 1) An introduction to the concept of material vs. non-material culture

2) A one-page reading about Acadian culture. Students will sort the parts of this culture in a T-chart.

3) A second T-chart for students to sort the material and non-material aspects of their own culture.

How to Use:

Teach your students the difference between material and non-material culture.

Culture is the set of values, ideas, traditions, and objects that a group passes from one generation to the next.

It can be divided into two categories:

Material: physical objects, books, art, structures, clothing, technology

Non-Material: ideas/values/things that can’t be seen, language, religion, customs, rules, education, government

Brainstorm aspects of culture on the board and sort them into the two categories.

Students read the one-page passage about Acadian culture and sort the parts that are material and non-material onto their T-chart. They could do this independently or in small groups.

Share the results as a class. Notice if any parts of culture are hard to categorize in this way.

Then students think about their own culture and sort aspects of it into material and non-material culture. This could become the basis for a paragraph or short essay assignment.

Grades to Use With:

This assignment is designed for students in the middle grades (5-8) or high school special education classrooms.

Standards:

CCSSW.5.8

Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.