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Persian Culture

Eleventh graders explore Persian culture (farhang) — Nowruz (the spring New Year with the haft-sin table), she’r (world-famous poetry: Rumi, Hafez, Ferdowsi), ghazâ (saffron-scented kabâb, polow, and khoresh stews), khânevâde (close family and mehmân-navâzi/hospitality), and târikh (ancient heritage, from Persepolis onward) — seeing how celebration, poetry, food, and family shape identity.

Grade 11Persian Culture50 minutes1 class periodACTFL / World LanguagesExplicit teaching4 StandardsACTFL
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Explore the culture.
  • ✓Learn cultural icons.
  • ✓Connect celebration, poetry, food & family.
  • ✓Share a favorite.
Essential Question

From Nowruz to Rumi — what makes Persian culture rich?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Explore · Interactive

The Persian Culture Explorer

Project this and tap each. Have students explore icons of Persian culture.

🌱 Explore Persian culture — tap eachTry it

The Lesson · Language Flow (Warm-Up · Present · Practice · Speak · Reflect)

50 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Warm-Up — Rich Traditions

6 min

What makes Persian culture rich?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Show a haft-sin table.
  • Ask what they know.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Look.
  • Share.
  • Get ready.
2

Present — Culture

12 min

Students learn.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to the Culture Explorer.
  • Present each icon.
  • Note celebration, poetry, food, family.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Tap each.
  • Note it.
  • Note it.
3

Practice — Practice

13 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a cultural icon.
  • Say a favorite.
  • Say why it matters.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name.
  • Say.
  • Say it.
4

Speak — Speak

13 min

Students speak.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Say “kabâb dust dâram.”
  • Describe a cultural icon.
  • Ask a partner.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say it.
  • Describe.
  • Ask.
5

Reflect — Reflect

6 min

Students close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a cultural icon.
  • Say why it matters.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name one.
  • Say it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (Intermediate-Mid).

ACTFL
Cultures 2.2

Explore cultural products (Nowruz, poetry).

ACTFL
Cultures 2.1

Explore practices (family, hospitality).

ACTFL
Connections 3.2

Connect ancient history to modern Iran.

ACTFL
Communication 1.3

Presentational: present a cultural topic.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Culture cards with images.
  • Celebration/poetry/food/family chart.
  • Use short clips.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with Nowruz & ghazâ.
  • Use pictures/clips.
  • Repeat aloud.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Learn a Nowruz custom.
  • Make a culture poster.
  • Compare to your culture.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 🌱Culture cards
  • 💻The Persian Culture Explorer
  • 🖼️Images & clips
  • 📓Notebooks
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

farhang (فرهنگ)cultureNowruz (نوروز)Persian New Yearshe’r (شعر)poetryghazâ (غذا)foodkhânevâde (خانواده)familymehmân-navâzi (مهمان‌نوازی)hospitalitytârikh (تاریخ)historysonnat (سنت)tradition
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What is Nowruz?
The Persian New Year, welcoming spring with the haft-sin table.
QUESTION 2
Name a famous Persian poet.
Rumi, Hafez, Ferdowsi, or Saadi.
QUESTION 3
What ancient site reflects Iran’s heritage?
Persepolis (and the Persian Empire).

Reflect: culture.

Have students name a favorite part of Persian culture and say why in Persian. A printable Persian culture sheet is in the World Languages library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Persian CultureFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Persian CultureQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Persian CulturePrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: farhang (فرهنگ), ghazâ (غذا), khânevâde (خانواده), mehmân-navâzi (مهمان‌نوازی), Nowruz (نوروز), she’r (شعر), sonnat (سنت), târikh (تاریخ)
  1. hospitality
  2. food
  3. family
  4. poetry
  5. history
  6. tradition
  7. Persian New Year
  8. culture

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What is Nowruz?
  2. Name a famous Persian poet.
  3. What ancient site reflects Iran’s heritage?
Answer key — Part A: 1) mehmân-navâzi (مهمان‌نوازی) · 2) ghazâ (غذا) · 3) khânevâde (خانواده) · 4) she’r (شعر) · 5) târikh (تاریخ) · 6) sonnat (سنت) · 7) Nowruz (نوروز) · 8) farhang (فرهنگ)
Part B: 1) The Persian New Year, welcoming spring with the haft-sin table. 2) Rumi, Hafez, Ferdowsi, or Saadi. 3) Persepolis (and the Persian Empire).