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Title: Multi-cultural Calendar

Grade Level: 4^th

Length: 1hr 30 min

Performance Expectation

The students will learn about various cultures by making a multi-cultural calendar.

Materials: Glue, Markers, Crayons, Construction Paper, Scissors

6 sheets of 11" x 17" Construction paper

12 pieces of 8 1/2 "x 11" Drawing paper

Availability to a library

Procedures:

Introduction:

As the students come in the classroom ask them how many months are in a year. Then put each student in a month according to their first initial of their name. Then try to divide the classroom in to 12 groups. Then put three students to a group or whatever is best for your class. Explain to the class how they are going to make a multi-cultural calendar.

Development:

Then for 45 minutes have the students decide what ethnic or religious culture would they like to learn about. The students have to learn about a ethnic or religious culture that is not theirs. Whatever the students choose they need to go to the library as a group and get information about the ethnic or religious culture their group is studying for the calendar. For the next 15 minutes have the students decide what group should go to which month. After the students choose a month have them complete the calendar pages by filling in the dates for holidays and other important dates for that particular culture. The students can then add quotes or short poems from their assigned culture. If the students want to they can decorate the page for their assigned month. Next have the students glue the illustrations and the calendar sheet on a piece of 11"x17" construction paper. Then collect the students pages and fold them to create the calendar.

Closure:

Lastly you can have the class make a cover for the calendar, that incorporates all of the cultures inside the calendar.

Assessment:

The students can then come up as the assigned groups and tell the class a little about the culture, that the group was assigned to get information on. At the end of all the presentations each student would write for the teacher something about the culture they did and another culture another student did. Then the teacher can grade the students on what sufficient information they get from their own research or someone's else's research. what the students learn from the calendar about other cultures.

Adaptation/ Consideration:

If you do not have time to do the research and make the calendar on the same day, just do the research on one day and the calendar the next day. When the students do a great job you can consider celebrating certain occasions from the calendar by having the class bring in special foods, sing songs or read a story appropriate to the day.

Reference:

Bailey, G. (1994).101 Activities for creating technology staff development. A Sourcebook of Games and Learning Exercises.

Michelle Fontenot, October 6,1997.