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Personal Heritage
Fourth graders investigate their personal heritage. For this personal heritage lesson, 4th graders fill in an outline with information about their personal heritage. They create a poster about themselves. This lesson is aimed at...
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How Cortez Defeated the Aztecs
Students explore the cultural aspects of the Aztec Indians and their beliefs and knowledge base at the time of Cortez's invasion. They explore how their beliefs impacted the results of Cortez's invasion. Students synthesize information...
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Japanese Tall Tales
Students read the tale of 'Three Strong Women' looking for facets of culture that create a 'face' of the Japanese people. They create a Venn Diagram comparing Japanese tall tales with factual research about Japanese culture. One side...
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Native American Friendship Dance
The performing arts offer artistic perception, creative expression, historical and cultural context and aesthetic valuing. This dance helps students understand dance history and develops cultural awareness. Students are given the...
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Post- Modernism
Students participate in a lesson that investigates post-modernism in American literature. They conduct the lesson with the help of reading "America" by Ginsberg to create context. Then students define the genre and the culture that has...
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Creating Stories Using Pictographs
Young scholars participate in diverse cultural activities that lead them to a better understanding of Native American people. They use pictographs to write a story, imagining themselves as tribal members. Students transfer their story to...
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Spirit of Islam
Students discuss preconceptions about cultural, ethnic, and religious groups and how those preconceptions result in stereotyping. They investigate how to overcome stereotypes about Muslims.
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Picturing America: Images and Words of Hope from Romare Bearden and Langston Hughes
A carefully crafted three-day instructional activity integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The...
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How Can Understanding and Helping Others Build Our Own Community?
Students examine the different cultures and disabilities people face in their community. They discuss how they can become better citizens. They answer discussion questions to finish the lesson plan.
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Lessons in Loss, Year of Impossible Goodbyes
Students determine how the Korean people dealt with the loss of their land and traditional lifestyle in response to invasion and emigration. They create a list of items and people they have lost. From this they complete a journal...
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Early Explorers, Early Settlements and the Beginning of Democracy
Eighth graders research and discuss the early explorers, why countries sent out explorers, where they explored, and what their cultural contributions are to our US culture today.
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Back in the Day
Students identify the genre of music called Hip Hop, analyze its elements, and formulate a definition of the Hip Hop culture.
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Japanese Carp Kites
Students listen to the story A Carp for Kimiko and discuss its theme/lesson. Then they identify and are introduced to the Japanese holiday, Children's Day, formerly known as Boy's Day. Students also design and create their own carp kite....
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Other Countries
Students select a country and conduct research on the culture, population, geography, and government of their country. They conduct research using the Internet and a variety of resource books, and write and publish a report that...
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The Hajj: Journey to Mecca
Students reflect on the importance of rituals in their own families. They examine the activities that are performed during the Hajj. Using other religions, they discover the diversity of other religious and cultural traditions. They...
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Hello Mexico City
Students research and explain the functions, characteristics, and cultural aspects of Mexico City and analyze how they have affected development and settlement. Students work in groups to gather information and report back to the class.
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Caught Between Worlds: Frontier Life as Reflected in Captivity Narratives
Students analyze captivity narratives written between the 1600's and 1800's. In this narrative lesson, students think critically about the interaction between Native peoples and the settlers to understand the cultural beliefs held by...
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Families and Neighborhoods
Middle schoolers explore the concept of community. In this community instructional activity, students explore the cultural flavor of their neighborhoods as they discuss the history of their neighborhoods and draw pictures of their family...
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Questions of Courage
Examine discrimination. In this character education lesson, learners read two biographies, Vivien Naki and Hamilton Naki then analyze their personal discrimination experiences. They complete a Venn diagram to compare and...
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What Do You Think? Analyzing Points of View About an Issue
"How might multiple perspectives of standardized testing impact me as a student?" is an example of an essential question that a researcher might use as a basis for this lesson on how to research and present a written stance on a...
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How the Light Bulb Gets Switched On - The Evolution of Ideas
Young scholars discuss how people are influenced by their cultures and backgrounds, make artwork that documents creative process, write character sketch of Colonel Massey from different points of view, examine issue from different...
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Native Americans and Native Plants
High schoolers take a field trip to a native plant culture. They need to describe where the plants were before the Europeans occupied North America.
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News Magazine: Special Issue on Iran. (It's about Perspective)
Students take on the role of journalists. In this Iran instructional activity, students explore the condition of the country at this point in history and collaborate to create a news magazine that features current events and cultural...
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Passport to the World
Eighth graders investigate the process for obtaining a United States passport. They plan a trip to a foreign country looking at important information including the climate, geography, culture, money, and language. They complete the...