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Moccasins Are Made for Dancing
Students explore two Native American legends. In this cultural traditions lesson, students read "The Legend of Blue Bonnet," and "The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush." Students then study basic Native American dance movements prior to...
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Introduction to World Religions
Sixth graders compare and contrast the world religions. In this cultural practices lesson, 6th graders locate places in the world where Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Islam are practiced.
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Not So Strange
Students examine aspects of culture that may seem strange and prepare skits illustrating how a person may want to behave in these situations without being offensive.
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A Visit to Japan
Studnets complete a variety of activities as they develop an awareness and appreciation of Japanese culture: geography, food, homes, holidays, celebrations, education, games, etc.
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United States-Japan History
Students compare the histories of Japan and the United States by creating horizontal time lines of the two countries. They conduct research via the internet and available text books to complete their time line. The class discusses the...
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Aesthetics and Affect in Music from Around the World
Students explore traditional music of different societies around the world by listening to number of different musical recordings, discuss how music makes them feel, examine how music is central to cultural traditions, and compose short...
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Festive Season
Students research various cultural and religious festivals celebrated and observed by Australians, describing common elements and identifying adaptations that have been made for life in Australia.
Peace Corps
Cuisine and Etiquette
Students identify the main food in the different cultures they have examined. In groups, they compare and contrast their expected table manners to the ones in Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia. Using this list of behaviors, they identify...
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East Meets West
Students explore the influences of culture in food choices and customs. They compare and contrast information to create a menu using a Web site and Student Writing Center. Suggestions for creating an on-line graphic organizer as well as...
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I'm British But... 3
Students watch the documentary "I'm British But..." and examine how and why cultures can conflict with each other. They read and discuss the lyrics to the song playing throughout the documentary, answer questions related to the song...
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Exploring Islamic Lands
Students examine the lives of Islamic teens. In this global studies lesson, students explore selected Internet sites to discover the attributes of Islam, the cultural traditions of Islam, and information regarding Middle Eastern...
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International Festival: France
Students explore French culture. In this cross-curriculum social studies lesson, students listen to Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans and identify words and landmarks associated with France. Students pronounce several phrases in French,...
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On Being Hindu...and American
Students explore the concept of acculturation. In this cultural diversity lesson, students examine how second generation Hindu-Americans have adjusted to life in the United States.
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Around the World
Young scholars 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...
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Swahili Alphabet Lesson
Third graders learn about other cultures. In this Swahili instructional activity, 3rd graders discuss if they know any other languages, read the book Jambo Means Hello, discuss why it is important to learn about other cultures, learn a...
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Discovering Russian Folk Dance
First graders explore the art of Russian folk dancing. For this cultural traditions lesson, 1st graders research the Troika and incorporate attributes of the Russion folk dance into their own renditions.
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Mexico's Day of the Dead
Students explore global culture by researching a Mexican holiday. In this Day of the Dead lesson, students read assigned text which discusses the view of death in several different cultures including the U.S. and Mexico. Students write a...
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Banding Together
Students explore the effect that a particular culture can have on popular music. They develop their own music groups, each representing a style of music and a historical culture and perform their group's concert for the class.
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Chinese Shadow Puppets
Students explore Chinese culture by performing a shadow puppet play. They create the puppets, develop a script, and rehearse and perform a play which illustrates an understanding of Chinese stories and traditions.
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Exchange Students
Students discuss as a class the items they value and why. They read an article about the popularity of cellphones in Iraq. In groups, they work together to create a guide to their culture to share with others visiting their classroom....
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The Cajuns: Natives with a Difference!
Students examine the immigrant experiences of various culture groups. Using this information, they work together to compare and contrast these experiences with those of the Cajuns. As a class, they define ethnic group and research the...
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The Mexican-American Influence on the United States
Students examine the influences of the Hispanic groups from Mexico, Cuba and Puerto Rico. In groups, they research the history of Mexico and read excerpts from a book in Spanish to practice their vocabulary. To end the lesson, they...
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Now and Then
Students record transformations and their effects within and across cultures. Students study the life of specific people in a former time period and then in the present time period. This teacher focused on the Winnebago tribe, using her...
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Tracing the History Of Food
Students explore cultural variations in food preparation. They pick a country and research dishes of cultural significance. They prepare their food and present the dish to the class creatively.