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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Unit 1: Contemporary Fiction - They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid’s Poems by David Bowles

For Teachers 5th Standards
They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems by David Bowles is the focus of a five-week language arts unit unit. Fifth graders listen to various poems and participate in thoughtful discussions, examining vocabulary and learning new words in...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

8 Ideas for Teaching National Hispanic Heritage Month

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
Here are eight ideas to celebrate National Hispanic Month! Scholars have the opportunity to read and discuss literature, include people and events in history, examine art, watch and discuss films, listen to and dance to music, explore...
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Lesson Plan
K20 Learn

Beyond the Zombie Wars: Understanding Culture

For Teachers 7th - 11th Standards
The zombies have invaded! Only a few safe regions remain, and class members must decide where they and the remaining world refugees should flee. After researching the cultures and creating poster presentations of various parts of the...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Globalization Since 1945

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Using sources from various publications and a series of videos, pupils consider the global economy and the positive and negative effects of globalization. With a jigsaw discussion and a writing assignment, scholars weigh in on whether...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Taking a Bite! Exploring Cultural Identity Through Food

For Teachers 9th - 11th Standards
High schoolers are asked to consider the connections between food, culture, and identity. They read articles and share what they learned in a jigsaw activity, read a short story, and make a claim about the story's theme, backing up their...
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Lesson Plan
Global Oneness Project

The Importance of Indigenous Language Revitalization

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Middle schoolers consider languages as representations of cultures and the importance of preserving various languages, especially the rapidly disappearing languages of indigenous peoples, in a lesson plan that tells the story of Marie...
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Lesson Plan
John F. Kennedy Center

Comparing Cultural Holidays

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
A activity examines the holidays, Día de los Muertos and Halloween. After an exciting clip from the movie Coco, class members review vocabulary and discuss what they know about Halloween. The conversation leads into the history of Día de...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) - A Cultural Holiday: Color Exploration of Warm and Cool Colors

For Teachers 3rd
Young artists examine pictures from and discuss the holiday Día de los Muertos. The symbolic skull showcases the use of warm and cool colors. Color exploration allows learners to use coordinating colors to create two paper...
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Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

Teach This Poem: "Tamales on Christmas" by Christian Robinson

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
A lesson spotlights the poem "Tamales on Christmas" by Christian Robinson. Scholars discuss their favorite foods and then examine a lively picture of a family preparing tamales. After listening to the poem twice, learners participate in...
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Lesson Plan
Teaching for Change

Latino/Hispanic Heritage Resource Packet

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Here's a must-have resource for Latino/Hispanic heritage month, September 15 through October 15. The 18-page packet includes suggestions to guide your planning, quizzes to test knowledge of heritage facts and immigration myths, and...
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Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

On "El Florida Room" by Richard Blanco

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
Scholars of all ages examine Richard Blanco's poem, "El Florida Room." Looking closely at pictures, pupils look for details that stand out to them, then read the poem. A whole-class discussion allows learners to reflect on what they...
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Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

Teach This Poem: "In a Neighborhood in Los Angeles" by Francisco X. Alarcón

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
After sketching an essential person and reading an article, scholars read the poem "In a Neighborhood in Los Angeles" by Francisco X. Alarcón. They listen to the poem in English and Spanish and record lines that stand out to them. Small...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

"What is it Like to be an Outsider?”: Building Empathy for the Experiences of Immigrants

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
This lesson highlights the struggles of immigrants and the importance of showing empathy. Beginning with a read-aloud of a book in another language and a poem, scholars take part in a thoughtful discussion. Then, the class examines a...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Grandmother, What A Big Culture You Have!: Cultural Characteristics

For Teachers 3rd Standards
A word splash activity introduces scholars to the lesson's theme—cultural characteristics. First, in examining Little Red Riding Hood by The Brothers Grimm, learners highlight the cultural characteristics and then spot the differences in...
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Lesson Plan
Nebraska Department of Education

Social Class and Fitting In

For Teachers 8th
Social classes may be explicitly defined as in a caste system or based more informally on such ideas as wealth or education. After reading and discussing an article about one woman's experience with trying to fit into a system different...
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Lesson Plan
Nebraska Department of Education

Where I'm From

For Teachers 9th
We are a tapestry woven of the threads of our family and its history, our environment, our ethnicity, and our culture. High school freshmen reflect on how these threads influence their goals for the future. After reading George Ella...
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Activity
University of California

Religious Influences

For Teachers 6th Standards
While the Roman empire often conjures up images of soldiers and emperors, its culture was more complex. Using primary sources, including ancient historians and pictures of artifacts, pupils consider the religious influences on Roman...
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Activity
University of California

Hellenistic Culture

For Teachers 6th Standards
It doesn't take long to change the world! Alexander the Great's reign may have been short-lived, but his vision for a multi-cultural Hellenistic world shaped Afroeurasia for centuries. Pupils examine documents, such as excerpts from...
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Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Native American Gender Roles in Maryland

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Toss gender roles out the window—some societies lived in a world where women not only possessed the family wealth but also were the farmers and butchers. Many Native American societies had more gender equity than European societies....
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Lesson Plan
Idaho Coalition

The Hunger Games: Gender Empowerment

For Teachers 6th - 12th
The odds are in your favor that your pupils will love this lesson that uses The Hunger Games to launch a study of gender empowerment, as well as the influence of social constructs of gender. Groups discuss how Katniss Everdeen and Peeta...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Assimilation and the Native People of Metlakahtla, Alaska

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Fitting in to a dominant culture comes at a price—especially for native peoples. Class members consider this concept using a photo matching game of indigenous people in Alaska. Discussion questions help them consider to what extent these...
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Heroes Are Made of This: Studying the Character of Heroes

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What makes heroes and villains? A six-part unit plan asks young scholars to explore the concept of heroism and the characteristics they consider heroic and unheroic. Groups create character maps that focus on how characters are shaped by...
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Unit Plan
Crabtree Publishing

The Genius of the Ancients

For Teachers 5th Standards
It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. Fifth graders prove this with help from three lessons that examine how ancient cultures used their needs to drive innovations. In lesson one, pupils identify main ideas and supporting...
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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Jamaican Song, Dance, and Play: Experiences with Jamaican Musical Traditions

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young musicians experience song, dance, and play of the Jamaican culture. Scholars listen for and recreate beats, they play tunes, make up original dances, and play a game that challenges pupils to pass stones to a specific beat.