Vermilionville
Mardi Gras—Secondary
Add a little glitter to your Mardi Gras celebration with a packet that includes information about the history of Mardi Gras. It also provides information about how different communities celebrate the holiday, as well as templates for...
Hildegard Center for the Arts
Mardi Gras Masks
Laissez les bons temps rouler! Create your own festive Mardi Gras masks with a lesson that provides background information on the celebration and instructions about constructing the masks.
Smithsonian Institution
A Life in Beads: The Stories a Plains Dress Can Tell
Young learners discover how the Sioux and Assiniboine tribes preserved native culture through the making of traditional dresses, identifying the resources used to make the dresses and discussing behind the meaning behind some American...
Curated OER
Games around the World
There are three little words every teacher is just dying to hear; investigate, discuss, and play. Kids love those words too, and they'll love finding out what types of things children did for fun long ago. As homework, they interview...
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...
Museum of Tolerance
Cultural Research Activity
Class members explore cultural diversity through a variety of texts that showcase the importance of traditions. Then, they interview their family members to research their own cultural background and write their findings on quilt pieces....
Smithsonian Institution
The Music of the Mardi Gras Indians
The traditions, costumes, and the music of the Mardi Gras Indians, African-Americans and those with African American or Native American Heritage are the focus of a unit that introduces class members to a little-known group that plays a...
Curriculum Corner
Holidays Around the World
Celebrate traditions and cultures around the world with a set of worksheets and printables. Fourth and fifth graders can create booklets or simply participate in individual studies of specific holidays in different countries. From lined...
Curated OER
Sioux Chef Sean Sherman: A Rebirth of Native American Cuisine
Many families have special dishes they serve during holiday celebrations and get-togethers. Many of these recipes have been handed down from generation to generation and often come with stories. Introduce your middle schoolers to the...
Oklahoma City Public Schools Native American Student Services
A Story of Survival: The Wampanoag and the English
Redesign your holiday celebrations with the aid of a lesson plan booklet packed with facts, images, maps, activities, and readings about the three-day feast that marked the English settlers' first successful harvest.
Scholastic
Explore the Seven Principles
A lesson shines a spotlight on what makes Kwanzaa special by taking a close look at its seven principles. Gift ideas encourage scholars to make and give one to their family members. Class members celebrate heroes and role models of...
Peace Corps
Culture is Like an Iceberg
What influences the way you dress, or celebrate holidays, or connect with your friends? Explore the cultural traits that are not easily seen with an engaging discussion. Using the model of an iceberg, learners place features of culture...
Curated OER
Christmas Carol Project
Eighth graders create a researched presentation comparing and contrasting holiday celebrations from the period surrounding Charles' Dickens 'A Christmas Carol.' For this Christmas celebrations lesson, 8th graders discuss differences...
Curated OER
Birthday Customs
Students are introduced to the customs and origins of a variety of common birthday celebrations. They work in groups to research common birthday customs and history and then make individual books highlighting a custom that has meaning to...
Curated OER
The Story of Kwanzaa
Celebrate Kwanzaa with a game of Kalah, also known as Mankala or Owara. Using an egg carton and a set of beans, players take all of the beans out of one of his or her cups and move to the right, dropping one bean into each of the next...
Curated OER
Magnificent Mexico
Students complete a variety of activities in a unit about the art, culture, and traditions of Mexico. They read books about the Day of the Dead, create a skeleton puppet, and create a traditional Mexican tissue paper cutting. Students...
Curated OER
Kokeshi Dolls
Students study the Japanese holiday Hina Matsuri and its traditions and celebration. They explore the history, location and cultural significance of Kokeshi dolls.
Curated OER
Happy Birthday to You
Students explore how people celebrate traditional holidays in various cultures. They participate in activities that are used to celebrate birthdays in different cultures. Students analyze the celebrations.
Curated OER
Chinese New Year Celebration
Students prepare for the Chinese New Year and celebrate. They assist in planning and preparing for the celebration. Students work together cooperatively in small and large groups. They discuss the symbol "fu", good luck, when hung upside...
Curated OER
Celebrate La Posada in Mexico!
Students locate and identify Mexico on a world map. They develop an understanding of celebrating La Posada in Mexico as they listen to a story about the tradition of La Posada. They create a representation of a pointsettia. They act out...
Curated OER
Peek-Inside Egg
Students research information about Easter celebrations in several cultures and identify symbols of the holiday. They find out about famous egg-decorating eggs from countries that have a tradition of egg artistry. Studnets create theri...
Smithsonian Institution
Braiding Rhythms: The Role of Bell Patterns in West African and Afro-Caribbean Music
Africans transported to the Caribbean as part of the transatlantic slave trade brought with them a rich tradition of music and dance. Four lessons teach young musicians the rumba clave rhythm, cascara rhythm, and the 6/8 bell patterns...
Curated OER
Christmas Around the World (Grade 2)
Student groups create slides on one of the cultures listed. They view videos that show United States families celebrating Christmas based on their native countries' traditions and a video which tells the story of La Bafana, the old woman...
Curated OER
My Own Holiday
Students investigate holiday traditions by participating in class celebrations. In this St. Patrick's day lesson, students discover the history of St. Patrick, the religious context of the holiday, and the fine foods and traditions that...