Curated OER
The Diversity of Filipinos in the United States
ELLs are introduced to the experiences of Filipino immigrants to the United States. As a class, they discuss the various waves of immigration to the United States and state the reasons why they would leave the Philippines. They compare...
National Gallery of Canada
Make a Parfleche
Examine American Indian art and culture by observing contemporary art and creating original pieces. Class members discuss artwork included in the plan and use these images to help inspire their own work, which should represent...
Curated OER
A Look Through My Antonia's Eyes
Thoroughly delve into My Antonia by Willa Cather with a plethora of activities. Engage scholars with videos and web sites in this week-long unit that explains the historical context and creates pioneers in the field of research. An...
Curated OER
Asian-American History
Students explore aspects of Asian-American culture. In this lesson plan, students use the internet to research American history and the Asian American experience, complete Asian inspired art and read a biography. This lesson...
Curated OER
Foods and Languages of the World
Students explore cultures around the world. For this cross-curriculum geography lesson, students listen to This is the Way We Go to School , a Book about Children around the World , and locate various countries on the globe and a map....
Curated OER
One Step at a Time
Learners investigate the customs and habits of other cultures by reading letters from a Peace Corps Volunteer. In this global customs lesson, students discuss how analyzing a culture is similar to analyzing art, no two people see...
Curated OER
Brief Encounters (Building Bridges)
Students experience what it is like to confront and deal with a culture highly different from their own. They gain skills in observing and describing behaviors and develop an understanding of how our cultural values influence the way we...
Curated OER
African American Community and Culture
Fourth graders explore the rise of jazz music. In this Duke Ellington lesson, 4th graders watch video segments regarding Ellington's life and showcasing a performance of Ellington and his band. Students discuss the rhythm...
Curated OER
Continuing Gandhi's Legacy of Cross-Cultural Understanding: Central Asia and the Middle East
Students investigate the lifestyle of Gandhi by creating a Venn Diagram. In this biographical instructional activity, students compare the philosophies of Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi while discussing their teaching methods....
Curated OER
Japanese Haiku and the American Experience
Twelfth graders research the history to Haiku Poetry. They read classical haiku to comprehend their special sensibility and form. Students encounter the Buddhist philosophical background of this poetry and its roots. They write original...
Henry Ford Museum
Transportation Systems
Learners analyze the evolution of cultural attitudes through the lens of transportation, examining several artifacts, documents, and photographs. Topics covered include how American attitudes have influenced society's evolution into a...
Curated OER
Brief Encounters (Looking at Ourselves and Others)
Students participate in a simulation in which they examine how different cultures interact with one another. In groups, they follow the behaviors for their specific group while a group of observers records their interactions. To end the...
Curated OER
Say Hi to Haibun Fun
What is a haibun? With this interesting lesson, writers will experience the Japanese writing form haibun, identify elements important to Japanese writing styles, analyze a haibun, and compose their own. Different from the typical journal...
National Gallery of Canada
Contemporary Reflections
Combine art and writing in a lesson about legends. After viewing Inuit art, class members examine their own cultural surroundings in order to write and visually represent a legend. Individuals are invited to take the creative reins when...
Curated OER
Chatter
Learners discover that cultural norms heavily influence how we communicate. They experience the challenge of using and interpreting unfamiliar communication patterns.
They identify strategies for successful cross-cultural communication.
Curated OER
Creating a Caring Culture: Appreciating the Diversity of Your School
Students explore community diversity. In this character education instructional activity, students read the book Is There Really a Human Race? discussing it with their classmates and teachers. Students design paper dolls to represent...
Curated OER
Weaving a Story of Cooperation: The Goat in the Rug
Weaving is an important part of Navajo culture. Read The Goat in the Rug to your fourth and fifth graders, and give them a glimpse into the process of rug making from the point of view of a goat! They will learn new vocabulary words and...
Curated OER
Superpowered Interdisciplinary Projects: Using the Science in Saturday Morning Cartoons
How to leverage cultural background knowledge to increase student investment.
Curated OER
Bringing Cultures Together
Students research specific information for the United Nations and present them in a PowerPoint presentation. They connect with another student in in their country of research by emailing them. They create a blog of creative writing...
Curated OER
Northwest Coast Indians: Spring and Summer Salmon
Here is a fabulous lesson about the cultures of the Northwest Indians. Through an exploration of a story about the Salmon People, learners study the practice of harvesting salmon and the cultural importance of salmon to the Northwest...
Berkshire Museum
The Three Life-Giving Sisters: Plant Cultivation and Mohican Innovation
Children gain first-hand experience with Native American agriculture while investigating the life cycle of plants with this engaging experiment. Focusing on what the natives called the Three Sisters - corn, beans, and squash - young...
Space Awareness
The Sun Compass of the Vikings
Evidence shows the Vikings likely navigated by using a simple sundial to find their course. Videos, a short story, and discussion help bring this time period to life as they study European history with a hands-on experiment. Scholars...
Curated OER
Grand Canyon Suite
Take a trip to the Grand Canyon! Lesson one explores how Ferde Grofe painted a musical landscape of America when he wrote the Grand Canyon Suite. Learners then examine art that shows the Grand Canyon in lesson two. Finally, lesson three...
Chicago Children's Museum
Simple Machines: Force and Motion
Get things moving with this elementary science unit on simple machines. Through a series of nine lessons including teacher demonstrations, hands-on activities, and science experiments, young scientists learn about forces, motion,...