Guide students through a study of different cultures. Introduce, define and discuss genealogy (a line of descent traced continuously from an ancestor) and immigration (the action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country).
Assign students to research their genealogy and create their family tree.
Pair students with a classmate and create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the lineage of each child. Common geographical regions should be represented in the areas of overlap among the circles.
Create interview questions for each student to interview their partner about their family’s history and guide each child to create a narrative to “introduce” their partner to the class.
Extension ideas:
For a richer understanding about cultures, values and traditions, discuss family traditions and guide the children through the same exercise as above, this time focusing on family traditions and ethnic customs that are currently honored and practiced by the students and their families. Some examples might include, holidays, religious ceremonies, food, celebrations, and vacations.
In the same format as above, have students create Venn diagrams with common traditions and customs overlapping in the middle. Students share what they have learned about their classmate’s heritage by way of introducing the student to the class.
Create share day/s and invite families to bring in food and artifacts to enhance meaningful cultural learning.
Independent study project: Assist students in deeper research about one of their family members who was a young child
in the 1930s, like Isabel. Where did their family member live geographically? What type of community did s/he live in? What type of work did they do? Who was the leader of the country where they lived? What were the economic and social conditions at that point in time where they lived? What family stories have they heard discussed of that time period and of the family member being researched?
- Have students create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting what they have learned about their family member to Isabel and her family.
Experience #2: A Study of Cultural Expression
Incorporating social and emotional learning, guide the students in a discussion of how different cultures express emotion. Does the culture value avoiding emotional discussions, or encourage emotional expression?
Guide the students through examples of assertive, passive and aggressive emotional responses. Create a chart with scenarios common to students and have the children create responses for each category. When might responses in each of these categories be helpful? When might they be harmful?
Engage the class in a discussion about cultural stereotypes. How can they be helpful? How can they be harmful? What cultural stereotypes do they identify with? Why do they or don’t they identify with these stereotypes?
Engage students in a discussion about how different cultures interpret situations differently. How might this lead to misunderstanding? For example, looking someone in the eye is considered proper and is encouraged in American culture, but prolonged eye contact in some Asian cultures is considered rude and is discouraged.
Notes to Teacher
Teachers: Hang a large paper world map on the wall, ideally over a bulletin board. Have students create toothpick flags listing their names and have the children pin their flags to the country/countries of their origin.
Questions to guide students
in their Venn diagram might include: When did your family immigrate to the United States? Which country/countries did your family immigrate from? When did they come to the US? Why did your family choose to come to the US? Have you visited the country/ countries of your origin?
A main purpose of this experience is to broaden students’ awareness of the world geographically and culturally by introducing various ethnic values and traditions and guiding discussions of similarities and differences in expression.
Another purpose of this experience is to bring awareness to students of traits and similarities of people from all cultural heritages.
A final purpose of this experience is for students to gain understanding and appreciation of the rich cultural heritages of their classmates and to create an empathic understanding
of common celebrations and struggles of all human beings.
One purpose of this experience
is to guide understanding of different cultural values and forms of expression.
Another purpose of this experience is to enhance empathic understanding; the idea of “wearing someone else’s shoes.”
A final purpose of this experience is to bring to light that different cultures interpret situations differently depending on the values of the culture.
