Core Knowledge Foundation
Unit 1: Contemporary Fiction - They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid’s Poems by David Bowles
They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems by David Bowles is the focus of a five-week language arts unit unit. Fifth graders listen to various poems and participate in thoughtful discussions, examining vocabulary and learning new words in...
Anti-Defamation League
8 Ideas for Teaching National Hispanic Heritage Month
Here are eight ideas to celebrate National Hispanic Month! Scholars have the opportunity to read and discuss literature, include people and events in history, examine art, watch and discuss films, listen to and dance to music, explore...
K20 Learn
Beyond the Zombie Wars: Understanding Culture
New ReviewThe zombies have invaded! Only a few safe regions remain, and class members must decide where they and the remaining world refugees should flee. After researching the cultures and creating poster presentations of various parts of the...
K20 LEARN
Globalization Since 1945
Using sources from various publications and a series of videos, pupils consider the global economy and the positive and negative effects of globalization. With a jigsaw discussion and a writing assignment, scholars weigh in on whether...
K20 LEARN
Taking a Bite! Exploring Cultural Identity Through Food
High schoolers are asked to consider the connections between food, culture, and identity. They read articles and share what they learned in a jigsaw activity, read a short story, and make a claim about the story's theme, backing up their...
Global Oneness Project
The Importance of Indigenous Language Revitalization
Middle schoolers consider languages as representations of cultures and the importance of preserving various languages, especially the rapidly disappearing languages of indigenous peoples, in a lesson that tells the story of Marie Wilcox...
John F. Kennedy Center
Comparing Cultural Holidays
A instructional activity examines the holidays, Día de los Muertos and Halloween. After an exciting clip from the movie Coco, class members review vocabulary and discuss what they know about Halloween. The conversation leads into the...
Curated OER
Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) - A Cultural Holiday: Color Exploration of Warm and Cool Colors
Young artists examine pictures from and discuss the holiday Día de los Muertos. The symbolic skull showcases the use of warm and cool colors. Color exploration allows learners to use coordinating colors to create two paper...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "Tamales on Christmas" by Christian Robinson
A lesson spotlights the poem "Tamales on Christmas" by Christian Robinson. Scholars discuss their favorite foods and then examine a lively picture of a family preparing tamales. After listening to the poem twice, learners participate in...
Teaching for Change
Latino/Hispanic Heritage Resource Packet
Here's a must-have resource for Latino/Hispanic heritage month, September 15 through October 15. The 18-page packet includes suggestions to guide your planning, quizzes to test knowledge of heritage facts and immigration myths, and...
Academy of American Poets
On "El Florida Room" by Richard Blanco
Scholars of all ages examine Richard Blanco's poem, "El Florida Room." Looking closely at pictures, pupils look for details that stand out to them, then read the poem. A whole-class discussion allows learners to reflect on what they...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "In a Neighborhood in Los Angeles" by Francisco X. Alarcón
After sketching an essential person and reading an article, scholars read the poem "In a Neighborhood in Los Angeles" by Francisco X. Alarcón. They listen to the poem in English and Spanish and record lines that stand out to them. Small...
Anti-Defamation League
"What is it Like to be an Outsider?”: Building Empathy for the Experiences of Immigrants
This lesson highlights the struggles of immigrants and the importance of showing empathy. Beginning with a read-aloud of a book in another language and a poem, scholars take part in a thoughtful discussion. Then, the class examines a...
K20 LEARN
Grandmother, What A Big Culture You Have!: Cultural Characteristics
A word splash activity introduces scholars to the lesson's theme—cultural characteristics. First, in examining Little Red Riding Hood by The Brothers Grimm, learners highlight the cultural characteristics and then spot the differences in...
Nebraska Department of Education
Social Class and Fitting In
Social classes may be explicitly defined as in a caste system or based more informally on such ideas as wealth or education. After reading and discussing an article about one woman's experience with trying to fit into a system different...
Nebraska Department of Education
Where I'm From
We are a tapestry woven of the threads of our family and its history, our environment, our ethnicity, and our culture. High school freshmen reflect on how these threads influence their goals for the future. After reading George Ella...
University of California
Religious Influences
While the Roman empire often conjures up images of soldiers and emperors, its culture was more complex. Using primary sources, including ancient historians and pictures of artifacts, pupils consider the religious influences on Roman...
University of California
Hellenistic Culture
It doesn't take long to change the world! Alexander the Great's reign may have been short-lived, but his vision for a multi-cultural Hellenistic world shaped Afroeurasia for centuries. Pupils examine documents, such as excerpts from...
Center for History Education
Native American Gender Roles in Maryland
Toss gender roles out the window—some societies lived in a world where women not only possessed the family wealth but also were the farmers and butchers. Many Native American societies had more gender equity than European societies....
Idaho Coalition
The Hunger Games: Gender Empowerment
The odds are in your favor that your pupils will love this lesson that uses The Hunger Games to launch a study of gender empowerment, as well as the influence of social constructs of gender. Groups discuss how Katniss Everdeen and Peeta...
DocsTeach
Assimilation and the Native People of Metlakahtla, Alaska
Fitting in to a dominant culture comes at a price—especially for native peoples. Class members consider this concept using a photo matching game of indigenous people in Alaska. Discussion questions help them consider to what extent these...
ReadWriteThink
Heroes Are Made of This: Studying the Character of Heroes
What makes heroes and villains? A six-part unit plan asks young scholars to explore the concept of heroism and the characteristics they consider heroic and unheroic. Groups create character maps that focus on how characters are shaped by...
Crabtree Publishing
The Genius of the Ancients
It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. Fifth graders prove this with help from three lessons that examine how ancient cultures used their needs to drive innovations. In lesson one, pupils identify main ideas and supporting...
Smithsonian Institution
Jamaican Song, Dance, and Play: Experiences with Jamaican Musical Traditions
Young musicians experience song, dance, and play of the Jamaican culture. Scholars listen for and recreate beats, they play tunes, make up original dances, and play a game that challenges pupils to pass stones to a specific beat.