UTSA Institute of Texas Cultures
Teaching Through Kamishibai and The Art of Chinese Calligraphy
Young learners discover kamishibai, a popular Japanese storytelling art, and explore how these Japanese folktales illustrate the country's cultural themes and values through discussion and storyboarding.
Missouri Department of Elementary
Diversity Day
Party time! Here's a resource that suggests celebrating diversity by organizing a school-wide event that features performers and speakers that represent the various cultures and traditions. The packet includes a list of suggested...
Curated OER
Native American Story Necklaces
Combine a study of Native American history and art in this lesson. Learners discuss the importance of fetishes in Native American culture, the history of necklaces, and create their own works of art. Your class will find this to be both...
K12 Reader
Storytelling and Folklore
Stories are passed down orally in many cultures. Learn about the ways that storytelling can shape a society with a reading passage about Native American folklore and myths. After they finish reading, kids complete five reading...
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
Rangoli Designs
Students use colored chalk on sandpaper to make authentic Rangoli designs in the Hindu Tradition. They study Diwali and the Hindu culture and research authentic Hindu designs and symbols. They identify traditional symbols that are used...
Curated OER
Textile Quilt
Students, after researching various textile patterns, colors and motifs, explore and discover the vibrant colors and patterns of traditional African fabrics. Together they create an informative classroom textile quilt that illustrates...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: How Coyote Came to Shuffle Off to Buffalo
Creative kids read, discuss, play-act, and sketch to examine the cultural significance of Old Man Coyote. They listen to several stories involving Coyote, analyze the Harry Fonseca painting Shuffle Off to Buffalo, and write Coyote...
Curated OER
Latino Folklore and Culture: Stories of Family, Traditions of Pride
Students define the terms fable and folktale. They write a fable to illustrate a Latino proverb. Students are explained that a folktale is a story passed down through the oral tradition of a particular culture. A fable is a type of...
Curated OER
Traditional Japanese Dance
Students study introductory history and cultural purposes of selected Japanese dance forms. They analyze the philosophical beliefs, social systems, and movement norms that influence the function and role of Japanese dance in the lives...
Curated OER
Coming to Terms With Cultural Differences
Students discover that it is possible to be challenged and "culture-shocked" by the norms of one's own culture when returning home from having been away and living in another culture. They examine and compare the customs of modern...
Curated OER
Indigenous Cultures Change Over Time
Fourth graders research and take notes while viewing a video on the Navajo Indians. In this Indigenous people instructional activity, 4th graders use the notes they've taken to compare and contrast the Navaho tribe to other Indigenous...
Curated OER
Perceiving a Culture Through Its Literature
Students read After Seventeen Years by Kim Yong Ik and discuss the cultural, political and geographical aspects of Korea that specifically affect the events in the story.
Curated OER
The Iroquois Nation
Students explore the culture of the Iroquois in order to write a new version of Cinderella. In this lesson plan on the traditions and life of the Iroquois, students engage in several activities, 8 different center and conduct research to...
Curated OER
The Differences Among Us
Students compare cultures. In this writing skills instructional activity, students collaborate to chart the tradition and cultural beliefs of their classmates. Students use their finding to write comparative essays regarding the...
Curated OER
Our Friends in the East
Young scholars explore Chinese New Year. In this Chinese culture lesson, students visit websites to research the traditions and culture of China as they relate to Chinese New Year.
Curated OER
Rituals/traditions with Gullah religion
Sixth graders discuss some of the earliest people who lived in each region in order to comprehend how humans interacted with the environmental conditions at that time. They make connections to present-day regions including...
Curated OER
Elements of the Oral Tradition
Various genres of oral tradition are outlined and defined in these slides. Give your class examples of folk tales, fairy tales, parables, fables, legends, and myths before reading an example of one of these stories. This overview acts as...
Curated OER
My World - Africa Scavenger Hunt
Students explore the lives of students living in Africa, learn African traditions, and compare and contrast their lives with the lives of African Students.
Curated OER
How Has African American Culture Shaped the History of Kentucky?
Eleventh graders explore the African American culture and history of Kentucky. They observe how an author's personal bias can define the argument of his/her publication. Students analyze primary source documents.
Curated OER
Exploring Cultural Rituals
Students analyze images and music of common rituals in America with those of other countries. They use worksheets to compare and contrast the events.
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
Rice Is All Around Us!
Students grasp the complexity and similarities of traditional foods in various countries and cultures. Then they compare and contrast family food traditions with their classmates. Students also create a decorated box to store recipes...