Curated OER
Six Dynamic Designs for Arts Integrated Curriculum
Students create a recipe for a certain aspect of a culture. They create a culture that has never existed before. They analyze either dance, history, geography, history or the future of space exploration. They compare and contrast...
Curated OER
Discovering No Differences in Latin America and Latino Culture
Students explore the differences between American Spanish speaking countries and the United States. Students explore the history and culture of Spanish speaking countries. They examine Latino influences. Students create a presentation...
Curated OER
An Academic, Economic, Cultural, and Political Lesson Plan
Students reflect on how many board games they've played have African Americans, their culture or history incorporated within. They identify four street games and three card games that appeal to African Americans. They play the...
Smithsonian Institution
Dia de los Muertos: Honoring our Ancestors Through Community Celebration
Oral storytelling has been an important part of every culture. The time-honored practice uses stories as a conduit for a culture's values and customs from one generation to the next. Keep the tradition going with a family interview...
Curated OER
A Cultural Look into the Faces of Mexican History
Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Manuel de Elias, and Alfonso Garcia Robles have greatly inspired and sculpted Mexican cutlure and history.
American Museum of Natural History
Being An Anthropologist: Laurel Kendall
Imagine studying Korean culture, especially the role of women, as well as marriage and religious rituals from home! Anthropologist Laurel Kendall shares what she has learned from her many trips to this fascinating country half a world away.
Denver Public Schools
Kung-hsi Fa-ts' ai! – A Chinese New Year Celebration
Looking for ideas for your Lunar New Year celebration? Check out an interdisciplinary unit of study that includes lessons in counting, calligraphy, culture, geography, literature, art, and music. Kung-hsi Fa-ts' ai! (May you...
Channel Islands Film
Once Upon a Time (Saxipak’a): Lesson Plan 4
How did the environment and natural resources found on the Channel islands influence the culture of the Chumash? Archaeology meets technology in an activity designed for middle schoolers. After viewing West of The West's documentary Once...
Curated OER
Chinese Kites
Students identify Chinese culture and find that New Year is the most important of many Chinese holidays. Then they research many facets of the Chinese New Year celebration, and identify the symbols of the animal zodiac. Students also...
Curated OER
Writing Exercises: The Byzantine Empire III
Three wonderful questions will help your middle schoolers better understand the Byzantine Empire. They construct short essay responses to each of the three prompts, discuss the schism between the Greek and Roman Catholic church, the...
Penguin Books
Folklore and Fairytales: A Guide to Using Traditional Tales and Reimagined Classics
Every culture has its own stories to tell. An interesting educator's guide shares a large collection of fairytales and folktales, some from different cultures and some re-creations of classics. A summary and brief teaching ideas...
NET Foundation for Television
1850-1874 Native Americans and Settlers
Did Western settlers receiving free land from the Homestead Act realize it wasn't really free at all? Scholars investigate the impact Western expansion had on Native American culture in the mid-1800s. They use documents, timelines, and...
Curated OER
Lesson: Creating a Superhero Sculpture
Indian art depicts an amazing pantheon of gods and goddesses, each having interesting powers and purposes. Young art historians use the provided images to analyze a carved sculpture of a monkey-god. They then brainstorm the attributes...
Denver Art Museum
Lesson Plan: Stories of Home on My Home
Learners research the Lakota tribes, culture, art, and family life. They analyze an installation piece created by a Lakota Indian, and connect what they see to the concept of home. They engage in a discussion, creative writing activity,...
Denver Art Museum
Lesson: What are Words For?
Words are everywhere in our lives, and our culture shapes how we understand them. Examine the use of words and their impact on society by first examining a word-inspired art piece, and then by creating a thoughtful word-inspired collage....
Pearson
Catching the Sun: Tales from Asia
Explore the folklore of Asia and the South Pacific with this language arts lesson series. Complementing a reading of Catching the Sun: Tales from Asia by Jan M. Mike, this resource supports learners with understanding cause and...
Curated OER
Native American Poetry
Identify text features, make inferences, and discover the cultural significance of Native American Poetry. Sixth graders read several Native American poems and use graphic organizers and literature response logs to record their feelings...
Curated OER
Archeology Lesson; Making Inferences
Students discover what an archeologist is and make inferences about societies and cultures based on artifacts. In this archeology lesson, students complete an array of captivating activities, guessing about what an artifact is...
Curated OER
Celebrating St. Patrick's Day with Dance
Celebrate St. Patrick's Day by teaching your class how to do an Irish jig. This type of dance is very fast. Break it all down and teach each section of the dance thoroughly. There are plenty of hops, kicks, toe touches, and stomps in...
Curated OER
Idioms
Use this podcast lesson to familiarize scholars with the characteristics, history, and cultural implications of idioms. As part of the Walking Classroom curriculum, kids listen to a 12-minute podcast as they walk around campus. If you...
Reed Novel Studies
Surviving the Applewhites: Novel Study
The Bradys, the Flintstones, and the Simpsons are some of pop culture's most memorable families. So how do the Applewhites stack up? Using a novel study for Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan, scholars answer text-based...
Curated OER
What Culture Game?
Young scholars examine artifacts from ancient cultures. They compare the differences and some similarities that may exist . They decide on at least two artifacts per area for each of the three cultures chosen and explore diversity.
Curated OER
Seven Famous African-American Masters of American Art
Students examine seven different African-American artists. In groups, they use the internet to identify their contribution and techniques to the art world and examine the time period in which the artwork was produced. To end the...
Curated OER
"The Notorious Hope Diamond"
Students brainstorm ideas about how and why legends are created. In groups, they discuss how legends show cultural ideas. After watching a video, they use descriptive language to write their own legend using different cultures...