Special Features

Printable Version for your convenience!

Rowena M. Chang

Title: It's a Small World After All

Grade Level: 3

Length: Twenty minutes of sharing, everyday for the first month of school.

Performance Expectation: The purpose of this activity is to build self-esteem and let children be exposed to other cultures.

Materials:

1) Books on other cultures; can be literature to informational concept books

2) Pictures or posters of other cultures of the world.

3) Student items that they brought from home to share about their culture.

4) Records/songs of other cultures music.

5) Foods from other cultures.

Procedures:

Introduction: 1) During the first days of school, have the teacher introduce her/himself. Include your own cultural background. Bring in items that show your culture: clothes, food, music, pictures, games etc. Then instruct the that they will be getting the chance to teach the other children about their own culture. Have the students keep notes on every student in the class.

Development:

2) During scheduled share time let the student speak in front of the class about themselves. Be sure as a teacher that the student says positive statements about self. Through modeling demonstrate to students how you think their cultural is interesting and fascinating. Let the children ask questions about that person.

3) During that month, brainstorm with students on how other cultures have contributed to humankind, i.e. the Chinese inventing paper, how did this change our lives. This can link to the next unit which is world history. Be sure that the students document their findings for assessment exam purposes.

Closure:

4) After every student has shared, have a small world party. Each student can use the items that they found about their culture to decorate their desks. Students can then walk around the room visiting each person's desk. Afterwards come together as a class and discuss what you saw. Show them that you have a whole world just in you classroom.

Assessment:

After every week (on the following Monday), test the students on how well they know their fellow students (the ones that presented the previous week). Give them a list of the names of students that presented the previous week and have them write down what they learned about that student. Have them write between 2-3 things that they learned. Also, on the exam, have the students write down what each culture has contributed to humankind.

Adaptation:

If the child is uncomfortable speaking about his/her own culture or feels that they have the same background as another student give them the option of studying another culture and letting them present it instead. For students with disabilities let them partner up with another student and have them present together.

Reference: Romero, L., personal communication, Sept. 29, 1997

Chang, R. adapted, Oct. 5, 1997

Note: Let the parents know before hand what the children will be learning that way the teacher can find out if the parents will be uneasy with the subjects covered. Also, in reference to food, find out if there are any special dietary rules that the individual child has. This will ensure that no child will be left out of the experience in exploring other cultures.