Smithsonian Institution
The Sounds of an Island: Jamaican Music for the Classroom
Introduce young explorers to the music and history of Jamaican culture through game songs and dances. As a bonus, class members get to play simple songs transcribed for the recorder.
VIF Learning Center
Languages as Reflection of Cultures and Civilizations: French Speaking Countries
Expand your class's vision of the French-speaking world by conducting this research project. Pupils focus on building 21st-century skills while they look up information about a French country and put together presentations.
Curated OER
Ancient China
Unveil the mysteries of ancient China in this presentation, which includes photographs of historic relics from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. Slides detail the Hsia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties; especially helpful is the final slide, which...
Curated OER
Japanese Festivals and Holidays
Bring the excitement and beauty of Japanese festivals into your classroom. Kids with special needs create calendars that reflect special festivals and holidays common to Japanese culture. They start the project by creating a list of...
Curated OER
Basket Making
Students create a basket. In this basket making lesson, students explore the Ojibway culture and discover the history of basket making. Students design and construct a basket.
Curated OER
Hanal Pixan
Students research the culture of Mexico. For this Mexican culture lesson, students view a PowerPoint presentation about the culture of Mexico and the students take notes. Students write an essay about what they have learned.
Curated OER
Soneka's Village
Students examine the culture of the Maasai pastoralist. They identify traditional aspects of their culture and describe how the roles of men and women vary in their society.
Curated OER
Becoming Part of the Community
Students identify how various cultures are similiar. As a class, they read an essay of a Peace Corps volunteer being integrated into their new community. In groups, they take the elements from the story and put them into different...
Curated OER
Israel
The class creates and performs a movement performance of the creation story found in the Jewish tradition. This lesson begins with the research of Israeli culture and culminates in a performance of the narrated creation story....
Curated OER
Painted Lodges
Students explore lodge construction as a representation of culture. In this cultural diversity and Native American history lesson plan, students listen to a narrative explaining the origin of Native American painted lodges. Students...
Denver Art Museum
Tea Gathering Quick-Write
Japanese tea gatherings are the inspiration for a great lesson. Learners are provided with an image of a tea caddy made for thick tea and asked to describe what they notice and what that might mean. This leads into a larger lesson about...
Curated OER
Brief Encounter (Looking at Ourselves and Others)
Students participate in a simulation game in which they realize what it is like to be from another culture. They observe and describe different behaviors. They also examine values from other cultures.
Curated OER
A Taste of Korea: A Chemistry-Geography Adventure
Students explore the different aspects of Korean culture. In this geography lesson, students prepare different Korean dishes in the classroom. They create a visual display of things they learned about Korean culture.
Teaching Tolerance
Reflection: What’s Your FRAME?
Encourage your class to recognize the diversity in the beliefs and backgrounds of their peers. Learners use the acronym FRAME to consider culture, background, and life experiences.
Curated OER
Feudal Japan
An excellent overview of historical Japanese culture, this presentation could carry through a world history unit or a lesson on the history of Japan. Especially interesting are the slides that compare Japanese armor and castles to other...
Curated OER
Papier-Mache Masks
Read about, and then make culturally inspired masks. Learners watch the video, "Masks and Face Coverings," then design and make a mask with cultural significance out of papier mache. Tip: Have small groups research, write about, and make...
Curated OER
One Step At a Time
Learners examine cultures in Africa. They discover culture includes behaviors, customs and actions. They examine how different people interpret things differently and practice seeing a situation from two points of view.
Curated OER
The Countries of Latin America
Fifth graders study the geography, culture, government and economy of Latin American countries. They work in groups to fill out a profile describing their Latin American country. They listen to a reading of Latin American folktales and...
Asian Art Museum
Experience Chanoyu: A Japanese Tea Gathering
As part of the study of Japanese cultural history, introduce your class members to Chanoyu, the Way of Tea. After a discussion of the history and key elements of Chanoyu, class groups perform the ceremony.
Curated OER
How Do Artists Effectively Relate Historic Events?
Students explore African American migration. In this black culture and history lesson, students use a map to identify northern and southern states in which African Americans lived in the 1900s. Students observe and describe objects and...
Curated OER
Revolution in China
There have been a lot of changes in China over the last century. This presentation begins with the fall of the Qing Dynasty and the revolution that led to the adoption of Communism. It highlights the Republican Revolution, Chinese...
Curated OER
Arabic Folk and Popular Music: Egypt, Lebanon, and Spain
How many of us have actually listened to Arabic folk or pop music? Learn about the many facets of folk music common to Lebanon, Spain, and Egypt with this well-organized presentation. Islamic cultural influences are traced throughout...
Curated OER
H.A.V.P.A. - 10th Grade (Islamic and Judaic Cultures)
In-depth and thorough, this presentation details the histories and main characteristics of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. A "Who," "what" and "where" slide helps to provide students with a learning objective and context for the...
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...