Curated OER
Cultural Comparison - A Look at Vietnam and the USA
Students identify a map of Vietnam and locate it in Asia. They find the three countries that surround Vietnam. Using a CIA Fact Web site and photographs from Vietnam, students list differences and similarities of these two cultures.
Curated OER
Explore the World: Create-Your-Own-Artifact
Pupils examine the cultures of different countries other than their own. They select a country they are interested in and research their lifestyles. Using clay, they create a model of one aspect of the new culture of their focus. They...
Curated OER
Food and Languages of the World
Learners examine Japanese culture. In this multicultural lesson plan, students taste rice crackers and create Japanese fans from paper and paint.
Curated OER
Piñatas
Students discover the original uses and ceremonial meanings of the piñata and how it changed. In this piñatas lesson plan, students create their own piñatas. Students explain in Spanish the reasons for their designs.
Curated OER
Traveling Community Journal Project
Students create an online "community journal". In this communities lesson, students use a writing template to send e-mail to various people to learn more about their community. The journal is passed from person to person.
Curated OER
Storytelling: Writers' Workshop Learning Center
Evaluating a variety of narrative texts can help build strong writers. Pupils identify plot elements and their relation to personal experience, then apply what they gleaned from the class discussion to create their own narratives.
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Heads Up
To celebrate cultural diversity and multicultural awareness, learners explore the nature of headwear used around the world. They brainstorm the types of headwear they've seen, and then discuss why people wear coverings on their heads....
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Journal Writing in American Studies
Young scholars write their thoughts about political cartoons, photographs, and articles in their journal and then discuss them in class.
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European Integration: Who and Why?
This French IV-V activity addresses European integration into the European Union. French language learners research, discuss, and present in the target language. Online research, discussion, and presentations will take approximately 5-7...
California Academy of Science
Guess That Spice
From medical treatments to cooking, people have been using herbs and spices for thousands of years. Perform a blind smell test of household herbs and spices to engage students in learning about ancient spice trading. Research the history...
Curated OER
Art and Patriotic Culture
Art forms, especially government-sponsored "poster art", very effectively conveyed specific cultural values during World War II. Understanding the role that visual images play in expressing issues and ideas is critical to developing...
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See You Later, Alligator
Students explore the historical and social significance of animals as cultural symbols in various countries around the world, as well as the impact that humans have made on the population and natural habitats of these animals.
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Deportation of the Acadians
Students use an online atlas to identify the presence of Acadian culture in the Maritime provinces of Canada and explore the deportation.
Curated OER
Where on Earth Are You From?
Young scholars create family trees and discuss cultural differences. For this cultural diversity lesson, students discuss the places their families came from and develop questions for each other.Young scholars show their...
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American Economics after WWII
Learners analyze the American culture after WWII. Through a variety of activities, students gain an understanding of ecomonics and prosperity in the US following WWII.
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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
Murals
Young scholars investigate how murals portray cultural expression. They study the history of mural making, explore its symbolism and design a mural of their own.
Curated OER
Globalization 101
Students explore the challenges created by cultural globalization. In this history lesson, students read several hand-outs centered on the topic, then participate in a class discussion and fill in a worksheet.
Curated OER
Four Immigrant Groups: Their Lives and Music
Fourth graders examine the experiences of four immigrant groups. Class members brainstorm a list of misconceptions of those groups and discuss if these perceptions are still present today. Using maps, groups locate the countries of...
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The Sounds of Change
Students recognize that music brings out feelings and emotions in people. In this music themes lesson plan, students explore the relationships between culture and music. Students answer questions about favorite choices in music.
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Dalai Lama Tibetan Mandala Lesson
Students explore world history by reading a children's story in class. In this Tibetan culture lesson, students identify the Dalai Lama and his contributions to both Western and Tibetan society. Students read the story The Mountains of...
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Animal Tales Around the World
Students explore characteristics of Indian Tales/ Parables. In this literature lesson, students compare contemporary society to western culture through analysis. Students create their own tales using this genre.
Curated OER
Changing Places
Learners investigate the Chinese-American immigration experience. In this assimilation lesson, students watch "Becoming American: The Chinese Experience" and then participate in classroom activities regarding the topic. The activities...
Curated OER
How Poets Evoke Social and Historical Representations
High schoolers explore how poems represent the social, historical, and cultural times that they were written in. In this poetry lesson plan, students compare and contrast poems with music of the time and explore implications of writing...