Parades, ceremonies, and rituals are common to most traditional cultures. Kids analyze a carved piece entitled, Death Cart to understand the significance of these events. They then create floats, carts, and costumes for a class parade...

Learners use their higher-order thinking skills to understand how visual images have been used to tell stories. They analyze a Lakota tipi that tells a story through paint and artistry. They then make miniature tipis using butcher paper...

Tap into the wisdom and knowledge of older members of the community with this New York Times plan. To warm up, learners write about and discuss advice they have been given. After reading "The Life Report," an op-ed column that asks older...

Spark an animated debate in your class! Young adults consider some of the fads or trends that are prevalent at their school, as well as their own level of participation in them. Just how much of a role does popular culture play in their...

Death is a difficult topic that we often choose to avoid discussing. Dr. Peter Saul, however, encourages his audience to begin a conversation on what dying means to each of us and how we see its place in our lives. Use this as a way to...

The history and tradition of the samurai are analyzed as cultural norms that changed to reflect the times. The class will examine sets of samurai armor and clothing to describe how their role changed over an eight-hundred year period....

Read and act out folktales, fairy tales, or myths from various Asian American cultures with your class. Each group reads a story aloud and then works together to create a short play or skit about the story. Suggestions for stories are...

Cultural discourse can start through a variety of venues. Learners begin to think about how our minds, memories, and identities shape our attitudes toward culture and history. They analyze seven pieces from the Dongducheon art exhibit...

A game, research, and cross-cultural comparisons are in the works as you open an artistic lesson plan. Upper graders get analytical as they make observations that will help them create a link between abstract and creative thinking. They...

An exciting twist on the study of the classical hero and the heroic quest! Using film to explore modern-day tales of heroes, the resource contains complete, ready-to-use lesson plans for as many as twelve days of instruction. Throughout...

Students are taught that the culture and customs of ancient Egyptian civilization. They recognize Egyptian symbols, patterns, and artwork. Students demonstrate their knowledge of Egyptian funeral procedures by creating replica sarcophagi.

This four to five day mini dance unit has many components. Discussion on what makes a good dance partner, research on famous dancing pairs, as well as learning a choreographed piece in class. The class learns a short dance sequence and...

Learners read "The Senegalese Miracle". They discuss the amount of sharing the author finds in Africa. They examine the relationship the author has to the locals.

Students are able to list at 3 rules for operating in a laboratory and to explain why each is important. They are able to identify problems with laboratory scenarios presented by the teachers. Students execute a lab protocol using...

Beautiful illustrations and tender memories of cultural identity make Kam Mak's story My Chinatown an ideal resource for budding readers learning four vocabulary words in context: fortune, scraps, soar, and victory. Introduce these...

My, how Japan has changed! From Hogaku to karaoke, this slide show provides an overview of the culture, instruments, and periods of transition through Japanese music. Here you will find 21 text-rich slides which are great for note taking.

Young scholars research the culture of Mexico. In this Mexican culture lesson, students view a PowerPoint presentation about the culture of Mexico and the young scholars take notes. Students write an essay about what they have learned.

Introduce your class to culture to Cinderella stories. After a brief discussion on culture, pairs of learners read and interpret different versions of Cinderella stories, meeting jigsaw-style with a new partner to complete a concept map...

Explore the cultural heritage through of your class through reading, writing, and speaking exercises. They create illustrated mini-books that express their unique cultural and personal experiences. They share their stores with the class...

This detailed overview of a curriculum unit suggests using travel literature to engage and stimulate your third graders’ interest in reading. The suggested reading list includes fiction and non-fiction materials and offers urban children...

Using informational text to make cross cultural comparisons is a great way to build a global understanding and comparative analysis skills. With several handy worksheets and a Venn diagram the class will read to make cross textual...

Discuss the difference between legitimate debate on a political issue and arguments that are based on hate through a science-fiction scenario that shows how a controversial issue can be discussed in both ways. Then learn how purveyors of...

An introductory lesson shows learners how pervasive and influential advertising is in our culture; particularly, how teenagers are actively targeted by advertisers. As teenagers, your students already have all the information they need...

Explore concepts of audience, purpose and symbols in this lesson from Media Smarts that asks students to consider all the functions of music. Through a series of discussions and activities, your class will brainstorm possible functions...