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
Prehistoric Culture
Make prehistoric culture easy for your class to understand with this well-composed presentation. It provides timelines for the Neolithic, paleolithic age, and the agricultural revolution. Images and information on two prehistoric sites...
Curated OER
History: An African American Cultural Celebration
Students prepare and organize a cultural celebration of African migration and immigration. Working in groups or individually, they research topics and present the information, including dance demonstrations, instrumental or vocal...
Curated OER
Common Good in Aztec Culture
Students investigate the Aztec religion and its symbols. In this Aztec religion instructional activity, students develop understanding of why the Aztecs gave sacrifices. Students write an essay looking at the Aztec religion and can...
Gobal Oneness Project
Building a Community of Trust
Barrio de Paz is the story of Nelsa Libertad Curbelo, a nun, who works with the gang youth of Guayaquil, Ecuador. The 17-minute documentary focuses on her explanations for the rise of gangs and for how gang culture reflects societal values.
Global Oneness Project
The Value of Sports: Unifying a Community
The Global Oneness Project presents a lesson about the power of sport to bring a community together. After watching the documentary film, I am Yup'ik, class members use the provided discussion questions to reflect on the importance of...
Curated OER
Native American Culture
Students examine the links between culture and geography. In this Native American cultures lesson, students research the cultural traditions of selected Native American groups. Students compare and contrast their findings.
Curated OER
Cultural Mapping
Students are introduced to the cultural diversity in Australia. Using new vocabulary, they define multiculturalism and explore their own cultural backgrounds. In groups, they complete a series of worksheets to develop a better sense of...
Curated OER
How Cultures Travel
Students examine how people and cultures have moved over time. They plot the movement of different groups of people and examine any cultural artifacts. They research a local group of people to determine how their community has changed...
Curated OER
Oral History and Multiculturalism
Students observe the human or personal side of history by assessing the background to the people in the community who are basically "living" historians. They compare the histories of different ethnic groups to identify areas of patterns...
Curated OER
Our Cultural Classroom
Second graders are introduced to the cultural diversity within their own classroom and relate this diversity to community, country and world. They create a visual family culture poster containing different aspects of their personal culture.
Curated OER
Cultures of Our Nation
Students bring in family items that represent their culture and present them to the class. For this culture lesson plan, students can bring in food, music, dance, pictures, and more.
Curated OER
Mexico's Culture
Young scholars compare and contrast the culture of Mexico to the United States. They brainstorm what makes up a culture and develop a model of their own culture. Students explore Mexican music and dance. Additional cross curriculum...
Curated OER
Germs: Cultural Diffusion
Students analyze agents of cultural diffusion. They discuss how the introduction of television would change various remote cultures, and in small groups create and present a skit demonstrating an agent of change.
Curated OER
Social Studies: Cultural Collage
Students define and discuss cultural aspects and family origins. By citing examples of traditions and customs from other countries, they develop an understanding of cultural influences on society. Finally, students create collages...
Curated OER
Cultural Collision
Students examine the culture of the Native Americans. As a class, they discuss the negative impact of the melting pot theory and how different cultures can be preserved today. In pairs, they practice saying Native American words and...
Curated OER
Exploring Culture Through Folk Tales
Students listen to folk tales, examine art and discuss the cultural context of each. Using a folk tale from any culture they choose, they research a piece of artwork that has the same message as the story. They perform the story and...
Curated OER
My Culture
In this culture worksheet, students answer ten short-answer questions about their own culture then write about the major cultural influences in their lives.
Curated OER
Cultural Museum
Second graders are shown a variety of art that shows different aspects of family life. Individually, they write down their predictions of the artist about where they are from, what their painting makes them think about and the...
Curated OER
Celebration of Cultures
Students create a multimedia project to represent their own culture and personal identity. They design a personal Coat of Arms using a computer graphics program and digital camera, write a script and film an interview, and contribute a...
Curated OER
A Single Lucid Moment
Students examine a case study of contrasting values between cultures. They read and discuss a story of a family of Peace Corps volunteers in Papua New Guinea, write a response to the story, and write a script for a dramatization of the...
Curated OER
Bradford England
Students explore the locality and diversity of culture within the Bradford District of England. Through map activities and discussion, they identify the major forms of transport, people and places in the region. Students compare and...
Curated OER
Ways to the Heart: Food and Foodways in Hawai'i
Students explore the Hawaiian culture through food. In this cultural appreciation lesson, students use map skills to locate where the food originated. They also discuss the importance of food to a culture's heritage, and prepare a...
Diane Venzera
Kwanzaa Celebration: Celebrating Family, Community, and Culture
Kwanzaa is the focus of a three-part lesson that celebrates the history and traditions of the holiday. Before lighting the Kinara, scholars listen to a read-aloud of Seven Candles of Kwanzaa by Andrea Davis Pinkney. Learners express...