Curated OER
Hanal Pixan
Students research the culture of Mexico. For this Mexican culture lesson, students view a PowerPoint presentation about the culture of Mexico and the students take notes. Students write an essay about what they have learned.
Curated OER
Holidays and Observances: Looking at Diversity and Culture
Students share their own knowledge and experiences of holidays they observe. They research a holiday of their choice and write a report. They also create art of their holiday to complete as a pre-writing activity.
Curated OER
Books for Teaching about Cultural Diversity Through Celebrations
Learn about different holidays, including Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, La Posada, by listening to stories. After reading about each holiday, they participate in a discussion and complete a fun activity.
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Culture
Fifth graders compare and contrast the cultures of American culture with that of the other cultures of North America. Using traditional and Internet research, 5th graders gather data on one element of culture for comparison. Data...
Curated OER
Cultural Comparison
Students choose from a group of entries about the culture of Peru. In this Peruvian culture lesson, students understand the definition of culture. Students describe the culture of Peru researched in the entry and complete a worksheet.
Curated OER
Mexico's Day of the Dead
Students explore global culture by researching a Mexican holiday. In this Day of the Dead lesson plan, students read assigned text which discusses the view of death in several different cultures including the U.S. and Mexico. Students...
Curated OER
Happy Thankgiving: Traditions in Culture
Students relate their own Thanksgiving experiences to those of the past through colonial games, Thanksgiving story books, and personal interviews. They develop a concept of how to celebrate Thanksgiving and plan a class time celebration,...
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
The Differences Among Us
Students compare cultures. For this writing skills lesson, students collaborate to chart the tradition and cultural beliefs of their classmates. Students use their finding to write comparative essays regarding the similarities and...
Curated OER
Celebrations
Second graders answer questions after listening to the the story "Celebrating Life Around the World" and verbally identify three ways in which people celebrate special occasions. They then make two verbal connections from their own...
Curated OER
Let's Celebrate Ramadan!
Students explore and study about Ramadan. They list what already know about celebrations, listen to a variety of books, compare/contrast various celebrations and create a project for each instructional activity. Each student assesses...
Curated OER
Winter Celebrations
Students draw and label pictures about holiday customs and traditions from their countries.
Curated OER
Habari Gani: What is the News?
Display creative works of art after learning about Kwanzaa. Kindergartners hear stories about the history of Kwanzaa and its celebrations. They then create artwork, practice African dances and listen to African music.
Curated OER
Las Christmas: Favorite Latino Authors Share Their Holiday Memories
Eighth graders read Las Christmas and discuss their own cultural traditions. For this holiday traditions lesson, 8th graders write their personal story about a tradition or holiday memory. Students complete all stages of writing in...
Curated OER
Families, holidays, and the United States
In this families, holidays, and the United States learning exercise, students fill in the blanks to sentences about families, holidays, and the United States. Students complete 10 multiple choice questions.
Curated OER
Waking Up, Stepping Out
Students focus on a rich and colorful description of a culture unfamiliar to most of them. They compare the similarities and differences they find between Nepali culture and their own and determine our similarities as people can bridge...
Curated OER
Painted Dreams
Third graders explore the importance of art in Haitian culture by analyzing the cause and effect within the story, "Allie's Basketball Dream." They examine all the aspects of the story and characters including their goals, dreams,...
Vermilionville
Mardi Gras—Secondary
Add a little glitter to your Mardi Gras celebration with a packet that includes information about the history of Mardi Gras. It also provides information about how different communities celebrate the holiday, as well as templates for...
Curated OER
Christmas in Mexico
Students identify how Christmas holidays are celebrated in Mexico, compare Mexican holidays with U.S. holidays, and learn Mexican customs. Lesson includes many downloadable activities to try with students.
Curated OER
Thanksgiving (ESL)
Students investigate a traditional American Thanksgiving. They recreate the first Thanksgiving in the classroom complete with food and appropriate decorations.
Curated OER
Chinese New Year
Students explore the Chinese New Year celebration. Through the use of interactive video and the Internet, they will examine the sequence of events that occur during the preparation and festivities. Students compare the Chinese New Year...
Curated OER
Migration and the Spirits of Life
Students study the Mexican traditions for the Day of the Dead. In this Mexican traditions lesson, students study monarch butterflies and learn about the role that the mariposa plays in the Day of the Dead. Students learn about migration,...
Penguin Books
An Educator's Guide to Jan Brett
Prepare to teach Jan Brett stories by taking a look at this teacher resource, which includes text-based questions, writing assignments, discussion ideas, and vocabulary practice for 18 different stories.
Curated OER
Color My World
Pupils examine colors and describe how colors contribute to the way a person may feel after listening to several books. Students also survey class for favorite colors and graph results, as well as discover how different colors are made...