Curated OER
Asian and Other Cultures
Middle schoolers view and discuss a video showing different festivals celebrated in Asian cultures. They participate in a class survey of the different festivals celebrated in their own families and brainstorm the purposes for...
Curated OER
South American Cultures
Students examine South American festivals. In this cultural diversity lesson, students research Spanish cultural festivals and determine their purpose. Students write and conduct a survey about cultural festivals.
Curated OER
French and Family
Where is France? Interest young learners in exploring France, French language, and French culture. They identify similarities and differences between French and American families, speak the French words for family members, analyze maps,...
Curated OER
The Grimm Truth—Comparing & Contrasting Children’s Stories and Fairy Tales in Cross-Cultural Texts at Different Points in Time
High schoolers explore world literature through completing several varied exercises. In this compare and contrast lesson plan students compare and contrast stories and how time and culture impacts the stories.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Native American Cultures Across the U.S.
Students examine how American Indians are represented in today's society. They read stories, analyze maps, and complete a chart and create an illustration about a specific tribe.
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Comparing Cultural Dances
All cultures express similar thoughts, feelings, and ideas. But, often times those things are expressed differently. Learners compare and contrast traditional dances from two cultures. They watch videos of each performance, stop to...
Curated OER
Lesson: The Power of Story
Universal themes found throughout the world in the form of stories is the topic of today's lesson. Upper graders analyze the cultural context of the Mithila piece, Hanuman. They consider the universal themes the image depicts and how the...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Celebrating Traditions: Challenge Activities (Theme 2)
Here's a packet of activities, designed to be used with the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt textbook, that will engage and challenge learners who have already mastered the basic skills in a thematic unit study of traditions.
National Museum of the American Indian
To Honor & Comfort Native Quilting Traditions
"Native American history leaps boldly off the colorful quilts and patchwork designs." Learners discuss Native American identity and symbolism by reading about a variety of Native quilters and their unique art process, and participate in...
Montana State University
One Mountain, Many Cultures
Americans may think of Mount Everest as a region dedicated to adventurous hikers, but many cultures have flourished there! Learners read informative books, watch videos, participate in classroom discussion, analyze folk tales, and...
Curated OER
Interpreting Perspective
Work on characterization with a narrative writing lesson, in which middle schoolers interpret a character's perspective. They discuss family traditions and examine how culture can influence a character's perspective. Next, they read...
Curated OER
Touring Tradition
Students study about the Venezuelan government's promotion of the Dancing Devils ritual in San Francisco de Yare as a tourist attraction. They investigate a number of traditional regional events around the world to explore the...
Curated OER
Family Customs Past and Present: Exploring Cultural Rituals
Students examine cultural traditions. In this cultural studies lesson, students conduct interviews and research online digital tools that allow them to discover their family's cultural traditions. Students prepare presentations using...
Curated OER
Cultural Differences and Similarities
In this ESL activity worksheet, students examine cultural differences and similarities as they record their answers concerning weather, religion, sport, traditions, food, and education.
Curated OER
Comparing Cultural Holidays
Learners 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. Learners create an alter to memorialize a family member or friend that has...
Curated OER
The Impact of Islamic Culture on the Arts of the Renaissance
Eighth graders examine the linguistic and cultural impact of the Arabic language and Islamic culture on the Spanish language. They analyze and label maps, listen to and differentiate between Spanish and Arabic music, and compare and...
Curated OER
Artifacts of Wisconsin's Pre-european Cultures
Students research forms of artistic expression in four cultures. They create a representation of art from one of the cultures and create museum information cards. They develop a rubric to evaluate each others work.
Curated OER
Community Through Northwest Coast Art & Traditions
Students view video and watch an artist create a potlatch (gift necklace). In this community and resources lesson, students understand the culture of Northwest Coast Art & Traditions . Students create their own necklaces and bent...
K12 Reader
Customs and Traditions
Here's a two-part reading comprehension worksheet that asks kids to read a short passage about the customs and traditions of Native American tribes and then to answer a series of questions based on the article.
Curated OER
Buffalo Hide Paintings
To the Native American people living on the plains, the buffalo represented culture, art, sustenance, and survival. Explore the history of the buffalo with a social studies instructional activity, in which learners create a buffalo hide...
National Museum of the American Indian
The Kwakwaka'Wakw: A Study of a North Pacific Coast People and the Potlatch
Discover the cultural practices and unique value systems of a group of native peoples from Canada called the Kwakwaka'wakw. Your young historians will discuss how conceptions of wealth can vary and how these native people utilized...
Smithsonian Institution
The Sounds of an Island: Jamaican Music for the Classroom
Introduce young explorers to the music and history of Jamaican culture through game songs and dances. As a bonus, class members get to play simple songs transcribed for the recorder.
Curated OER
Discovering Culture through Literature
Students read the story "The Last Seventeen Years". Using the story, they identify cultural clues about the country of Korea. In groups, they complete a Venn diagram comparing Korean and United States culture. They use the internet to...
Curated OER
Cultures
Young scholars research different cultures around the world. They discover that each culture is a way to express oneself. They compare and constrast how different cultural events are celebrated and draw their own conclusions about them.