Diane Venzera
Kwanzaa Celebration: Celebrating Family, Community, and Culture
Kwanzaa is the focus of a three-part lesson that celebrates the history and traditions of the holiday. Before lighting the Kinara, scholars listen to a read-aloud of Seven Candles of Kwanzaa by Andrea Davis Pinkney. Learners express...
Curated OER
Family Traditions, Customs and Beliefs
Students discuss African childhood, explore family traditions, customs, and beliefs, examine African recipes, discuss differences or similarities in food preparation between the U.S. and Africa, and prepare a dish with adult supervision.
Curated OER
Tracing Our Own Family Pilgrimages
The Pilgrims may have arrived in North America by way of the Mayflower, but chances are, your class members' ancestors came to the United States in another way. Guide them through an exploration of their own heritage, countries of...
John F. Kennedy Center
Comparing Cultural Holidays
A lesson 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 history of Día...
Curated OER
Exploring Countries and Cultures
Fifth graders choose a country associated with a family member and research its location, government, language, economy, history, holidays, foods, sports, and famous people. They write to inform using this data and draw a map identifying...
National Woman's History Museum
Ida B. Wells: Suffragist and Anti-Lynching Activist
Suffragette, investigative journalist, and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells is the focus of a instructional activity that has young historians study the work of this amazing woman. Scholars watch a video biography of Wells, read the...
Curated OER
Federal Holidays
Third graders complete various activities pertaining to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, and Veteran's Day. They conduct research and complete writing and art activities on the...
Smithsonian Institution
Dia de los Muertos: Celebrating and Remembering
Help scholars understand the history, geography, traditions, and art of Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Find background information for your reference as well as a detailed cross-curricular lesson plan. Learners compare...
Curated OER
The Family: Louisiana Family Folklore
Students explore and identify family treasures and research the history to each one. They also organize a variety of artifacts into various categories and research traditional Louisiana artifacts online. Each student draws inferences...
Curated OER
Food and Culture: Exploring the Flavors of Your Community
Students brainstorm the types of food they eat at home, discussing and comparing with the class. Students brainstorm and make a chart of questions that came out of the activity and their discussions. Students interview someone who...
ESL Holiday Lessons
Kwanzaa
Teach English language learners about the week-long holiday of Kwanzaa that is celebrated around the world during December. It includes holiday-themed reading comprehension passages, phrase matching, fill-in-the-blanks, and journaling...
Curated OER
Cultural Awareness/Sharing Traditions
Young scholars examine and explore cultural traditions that make their own families unique. In groups, they discuss traditions, write about the similarities and differences in the group, and interview other students.
National Woman's History Museum
Defying British Rule: Women's Contributions to The American Revolution
Primary and secondary sources are the focus of a instructional activity that showcases the important role women played during the American Revolution. Pairs review sources and discuss their findings. A close-reading of an informational...
Education World
You Are the Historian: Investigating the First Thanksgiving
Students examine the facts and myths that surround the "First Thanksgiving" (the harvest celebration of 1621) at Plimoth Colony. They study the role that historians play in the collection and dissemination of history and use their...
Curated OER
It's All in the Family with Mother's & Father's Day
Students interview family members to make a family tree for a Mother's or Father's Day card. In this family tree instructional activity, students read Love You Forever and discuss love within families. Students view Genealogy Resources...
Smithsonian Institution
Dia de los Muertos: Honoring our Ancestors Through Community Celebration
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...
Curated OER
Comparing Cultural Holidays
Students discover facts about the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead. In this compare and contrast lesson, students explore Halloween and the Day of the Dead. Students create an alter to memorialize a family member or friend that has...
Curated OER
Holidays
Students compare the holidays celebrated in the Middle Ages to those celebrated in American culture today. In this cultural tradition lesson, students read Internet-linked articles about holidays of the Middle Ages. Students create...
Curated OER
Families
First graders complete a unit on families and family structures. They create a family tree for their own family, construct a family mobile, sort and discuss photos of families from around the world, create a banner of ways to say "I...
Curated OER
Comparing Cultural Holidays
Third graders explore art that reflects their cultural background. In this writing and research lesson students compare and contrast the Halloween with El Dia de los Muertos. Students study the visual art of these holidays. Then students...
Agriculture in the Classroom
Pumpkins... Not Just For Halloween
Celebrate fall with four pumpkin themed hands-on activities! After learning about pumpkins, scholars complete two activity sheets that reinforce estimation and word problems. They then plant pumpkin seeds and bake a pie in...
Curated OER
"Wedding Celebrations Around The World"
Ninth graders research the cultural implications of wedding celebrations around the world. They study wedding celebrations before creating world map on which they place an appropriately attired wedding couple on the country they studied....
Teaching Tolerance
Thanksgiving Mourning
Two primary sources, a speech, and an article provide tweens and teens with different perspectives of the American Thanksgiving holiday. After analyzing Wamsutta James' suppressed speech and Jacqueline Keeler's article, class members use...
Peace Corps
Celebrating Our Connections Through Water
Water is vital for survival, but how does it help global cultures flourish? Elementary and middle schoolers learn about the different cultures around the world that celebrate water and incorporate it into their festivals or traditions.