Fifth graders answer questions such as: Where does my family come from? What was it like for my ancestors to grow up as America developed? What differences in society were present then? What was similar to today? students conduct...

Oral storytelling has been an important part of every culture. The time-honored practice uses stories as a conduit for a culture's values and customs from one generation to the next. Keep the tradition going with a family interview...

Students explore the future and the importance of the past. In this futuristic lesson, students create a future city and identify traditions of their heritage that they feel should be passed on to future generations. They also assess the...

Students continue to examine the concept of communities. In groups, they identify and create a list of their needs and wants and create artwork showing their community working properly. They describe the differences in communities...

Young scholars explore South Carolina. In this cultural heritage lesson, students investigate the topography of South Carolina using maps. Young scholars are engaged in identifying the different regions of the state and examine the...

Students explore the history of their local community. In this local history lesson, students analyze primary documents to develop an understanding of the local culture and traditions of their local community.

A discussion of thankfulness opens a lesson followed by a read-aloud of the "Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address Greetings to the Natural World." Scholars answer questions and write down what they are thankful for in their home or...

Learners explore Spanish speaking countries.  In this multi-cultural literacy lesson, students research a country in which Spanish is the official language, and create a related travel brochure on the computer.

What makes giving meaningful? Class members discuss this question, then listen to Alberto Rios reading his poem, "When Giving Is All We Have." Finally, the class considers what the poet says about the question.

Who or what do you miss? That's the question that launches an activity that asks writers to craft a paragraph filled with sensory details that shows how they feel. Next, they listen to Richard Blanco reading his poem, "Translation for...

Middle Schoolers research Arkansas community festivals which are tied to the landscape. They create brochures that reflect the festival from a geographical and historical perspective and share them with the class. This ambitious and...

Every family has a different story to share. Your learning community examines the checklist that applies to the lesson, share some of the teacher's family photos, and look for clues in their own family photos in order to complete a...

How do barns serve as a window to a community's past? Here are a series of lessons on the symbolism and historical context of barns throughout American history. Topics include community-building, in-depth primary and secondary...

Create a language mosaic to reveal the linguistic diversity in your community. Pupils interview a person with a home language other than English and contribute to a bulletin board display representing the variety of languages spoken. The...

Before cell phones, tablets, and computers with access to YouTube, before gleaming multiplexes and even before television, there were small theaters with Saturday night black and white movies. Alberto Ríos's poem "When There Were Ghosts"...

Students examine several elements that would cue them into a newspaper article about community change without reading the main copy text. They discuss the details and write notes about the article. They first skim and then thoroughly...

Learners research local Canadian explorers and write a report on them. In this research lesson plan, students look at local heritage and relationships that came out of those explorers.

Fourth graders discover cultural heritage by investigating the Aboriginal community. In this Canadian History lesson, 4th graders identify the First Nations of Canada and research them using an atlas and the web. Students create a First...

Students research a famous woman from a previous lesson plan. They develop a chant about her and her accomplishments. They share their findings with the community.

Learners study the characteristics of a folk group, themselves and their folk groups, and write about a folk group that is meaningful to them. They identify various folk groups within the school community and discover that everyone,...

Learners create a descriptive paragraph conveying ideas utilizing a personal photograph as a prompt for their writing. This concept includes the writers emotions, personal issues, education, art and photography. They share insights to...

Students gain a better understanding of what it means to eat seasonally through learning about traditional hunting, gathering, and food preparation methods of Athabascan tribes. By interacting with Native American Elders and...

Students discuss ways to research our multicultural communities, set personal goals for learning about others, and outline a plan with specific goals to achieve their goals.

Students research and create a presentation about their own culture and personal history. They interview family members to increase their awareness of family events and documents. They create a family tree at a web based resource.