9/11 Memorial & Museum
Exploring Afghani Culture through Literature
Hosseini Khaled's The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns are the anchor texts in a semester-long course that explores Afghani culture and traditions.
Peace Corps
Features of Culture
Young scholars enumerate features of their own culture and evaluate how those features have influenced their lives. They explain that many differences are related to culture-beliefs and ways of living that are handed down from one...
Curated OER
Introduction to the Rich European Jewish Culture
Students examine the culture of rich, European Jews. Using photographs, they discuss their feelings about them and decide on two they would like to use. They respond to questions found on the analysis guide. They research the music of...
University of Chicago
Comparing Modern and Ancient Ideas of Ethnicity and Identity
Explore ethnicity and identity with a research and writing assignment. Class members conduct online research, looking in particular at images and carefully noting down their sources on notecards. They read about identity and compose...
Curated OER
Culture Is Like an Iceberg
Students examine features of culture to determine which are visible and which are invisible, and how the invisible affect the visible. They look at both their outline drawing of the iceberg and their Features of Culture worksheet and...
Curated OER
Middle-East Reflections
Practice symmetry and patterns with this Mid-Eastern art project. Your class will create beautiful, reflective mosaics that will brighten up the classroom! A list of necessary materials is included.
Curated OER
Understanding Europe: A Cultural Mosaic (Theme 1)
Students discuss the cultural similarities and differences found in Northen Europe, Southern Europe, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe and create daily journal entries charting their discoveries. This lesson is the First Part in a Four...
Curated OER
How is Rice Used in Food from Different Cultures?
Fifth graders examine how rice is used in different cultures. In this culture lesson, 5th graders explain the similarities between dolmas and sushi, then name two different Mexican rice dishes. Students learn new vocabulary words, which...
Curated OER
Jewish Culture Through Food Recipes
Young scholars engage in studying Jewish culture through the experience of tasting and eating different foods. They answer key questions that are used to guide the lesson. The foods of Americans is contrasted with the Jewish foods.
Curated OER
History of Tiles: Early Tile Designs - The Middle East
Students create a presentation on Middle Eastern art. In this art history lesson, students will research Middle Eastern art, specifically focusing on the Alhambra Palace and Moorish-inspired tile design. They will use information...
Curated OER
Great Cities of the Middle East
Students explore the cities of Cairo, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Mecca and Tehran. In this Middle East lesson plan, students complete a map, research one of the five the cities and prepare a presentation that includes details about the city. ...
Curated OER
The Zabbaleen, Cairo's Garbage Workers
Here is a fascinating human geography study of the Zabbaleen. They are a sub-class of people who work as garbage collectors in Cairo, Egypt. I can't say enough good things about this resource in my limited space here. It is fabulous! If...
Curated OER
Exploring Islamic Lands
Learners examine the lives of Islamic teens. In this global studies lesson plan, students explore selected Internet sites to discover the attributes of Islam, the cultural traditions of Islam, and information regarding Middle Eastern...
Curated OER
Walk in My Shoes
Students discover how culture, geography and history affect how someone views an area of the world. They role play the role of a Palestinian, Jew or Briton and examine how they felt about Israel during its formation. To end the lesson...
Curated OER
Around the World
Students discuss the major geographical and cultural differences in the world. In this social science instructional activity, students pretend they are traveling and research information about where they wish to stay by finding...
University of Chicago
Using Artifacts for Clues About Identity
Learn about the ancient Near East through a close examination of ancient artifacts. Lead your class into analysis by first observing an artifact as a class. Pupils can then work in pairs to analyze the other artifacts and compile a list...
Curated OER
International Festival - Cultures of the World Research Projects
Seventh graders identify common elements of cultures from around the world. They create a group research project, which illustrates the elements of culture from a specific country of the Eastern World. Finally, they compare these...
Curated OER
Studio Art Lessons Based on Latin American Arts
Study three of the basic principles of design: l) designs should create a rhythmic pattern made up of related shapes, 2) colors should be repeated so as to not force the eye to remain with a single part of the composition, and 3) a...
Curated OER
Studies of the Eastern Worlds: Cultural Maps
Seventh graders look for similarities and differences in the culture of Eastern World countries by looking at the art from each country. They test their hypothesis and assumptions through further research in the media center. Finally...
Curated OER
What's on Your Plate?
Students discover foods of the Middle East. In this global studies activity, students sample a falafel as they follow the provided instructions to make the dish.
Curated OER
Cinderella Stories From Around the World
Fifth graders review the basic story of the Cinderella fairy tale. In groups, they read various stories of Cinderella from different cultures. They use a compare and contrast chart to examine the differences between the American...
Curated OER
Discovering the Middle East (Past & Present)
Students, after being assigned a specific Middle Eastern Country, research various aspects/statistics as well as historical information on their country. They combine their acquired information in an oral presentation and written report....
Curated OER
Tolerance and Genocide
Students investigate the causes of genocide. In this cultural diversity lesson, students discuss genocide incidents in Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Students then write essays about what they would do if their cultural...
Curated OER
Why is the Middle East so Stereotyped in the West?
Students examine the stereotypes used to classify the Middle East. After taking a regional literacy survey, they discover their own global awareness. They discuss how stereotypes are formed and how they persist over time if not stopped.