National Gallery of Canada
A Cultural Portrait
Explore heritage and identity through an examination of art and a related project. The featured art, related to the African diaspora, includes several types of art created by different artists. Pupils consider their own backgrounds and...
Curated OER
Orville and Wilbur Wong and the Fantastic Flying Machines
Upper elementary and middle schoolers examine the role of Chinese immigrants in America. They investigate literature, history and cultures of Chinese-Americans. This ambitious plan takes two weeks to complete, and it brings in elements...
Curated OER
Becoming Part of the Community
Students read narratives by Peace Corps volunteers and examine how they succeeded in adapting to living in a new cultural environment. They identify attitudes and actions that promote having a positive experience in a foreign country.
Curated OER
Japanese Tea and Teacups
Upper graders use the potter's wheel to make Japanese style tea cups, which they will use in a Japanese style tea ceremony. They hone their sculpting techniques while exploring Japanese cultural and the history of tea. There are two...
Curated OER
Healthy Living: Multicultural Awareness and Appreciation Adaptation
Students recognize a globe and distinguish between land and water, as well as recognize different cultures. They become knowledgeable regarding geography and cultural diversity.
Peace Corps
Brief Encounters
How are Pandyas different than Chispas? Explore cultural norms and societal behaviors with an engaging role-play activity. Split into groups of two hypothetical cultural groups, the formal Pandyas and the sociable Chispas, and another...
Anthropological Association
Race: Teacher Guide: Race
How has the concept of race changed over time? Explore the genetic, cultural, and social aspects of race through a series of impactful activities. Scholars discover how race is influenced by inherited traits, examine census records to...
Curated OER
Building Bridges for Young Learners--Culture
Students explore the concept of "culture." In this cross curriculum literacy and world history instructional activity, students listen to a letter written by a child from Namibia, then compare and contrast life in Africa with their own...
Curated OER
Cultural Diversity in Nebraska (Scottsbluff)
Students experience a new appreciation of cultural diversity involving different people, places, and environments. They research family backgrounds, use technology to exchange information, create a map depicting ethnic concentrations and...
Curated OER
Classroom Quilt of Cultures
Students discuss the similarities and differences in their cultural traditions. In this quilt of cultures lesson, students sing and dance to "Smile at your Neighbor." Students write down their favorite food, holiday, family activity,...
Curated OER
Culture Collage
Students investigate their cultural heritage and make observations on how much influence their past has on their current values and lifestyle. They brainstorm a list of things that represent a certain country or cultural heritage and...
Curated OER
The Affects of Environment on Native American Culture
Students research the culture of the Native Americans. In this U.S. History lesson, students are given the major geological areas where the Indians lived prior to the arrival of the Europeans, then they create a notebook that compares...
Curated OER
Native Cultures and Values
Students learn about Native American culture. In this history and diversity lesson, students use a website to create a timeline of significant events, contributions, growth and developments of Native American culture groups. Students...
Curated OER
My Own Cultural Traditions
Students complete a worksheet on personal traditions. In this cultural traditions lesson, students discuss what a cultural tradition is and why they are important to the members of the culture. Students distinguish between cultural...
Curated OER
Aboriginal Peoples And The Universals of Culture
Sixth graders research specific features of a province or territory of Canada. In this Canadian history lesson, 6th graders identify aboriginal culture areas on a map, identify cultural features represented in their region, and create...
Curated OER
Important Contributions to American Culture
Fifth graders explore the contributions of different cultures to the American landscape. Students work in groups and use a variety of resources to create a presentation about a group that emigrated to America.
Curated OER
Native American Culture
Students read a variety of Native American Literature and discuss the main idea by answering critical thinking questions about the poem. Students use context clues to understand the feeling of the Native American culture about the Earth....
Curated OER
The Ancient Mediterranean: Trade, Contact, and Cultural Diffusion
Ninth graders begin the lesson by being introduced to the basic terms of economics. In groups, they discover how they are affected by trade because of the clothes they wear and foods they eat. Using primary sources, they examine the...
Curated OER
Cultures and Cuisines WebQuest
High schoolers create and present a powerpoint presentation. In this cultures and cuisines research lesson, students select a country, interview someone from that country and visit a restaurant from that country. High schoolers...
Curated OER
How Cultures Differ "Two Different Perspectives on the Same Event
Students read excerpts from Peter Hessler's River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze and discuss his difficulties in learning the language, cultural clashes and how cultural perceptions shape our understanding of the world.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Not 'Indians,' Many Tribes: Native American Diversity
Students explore what they thought they knew about "Indians." They examine the Hopi, Abeneki and Kwatiutl tribes in a game-like activity using archival documents.
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Diversity in World Literature Lesson 5: The Tragic Hero
Should identifying a tragic hero be based on a universal definition or a definition based on the morals and values of a specific culture? As part of a study of Things Fall Apart, class members read Sylvia Plath's "Colossus" and then...
Curated OER
Cultural Spaces
As a way to help your students understand tolerance, personal space, and cultural diversity, this lesson has them give up personal space for three minutes. There is no discussion prior to this activity and seemingly very little after....
Curated OER
Diversity Day
Eleventh graders explore a variety of different cultures and their traditions. They complete an evaluation and short reflection of the day on the following prompts: I learned I... and I wish I... Each student then observes and talks with...