Lots of activities can inspire children to learn about culture.
Multicultural education is important in current-day America, and teachers must be prepared to teach multiculturalism to students so they will embrace and understand various cultures in the classroom. The ability of children to reflect on culture in the classroom shows that they have grasped an understanding of culture. There are a variety of ways to get children to reflect on culture: having students create their own culture, having a multicultural fair, and creating a culture collage are among the activities that will involve students in a better understanding of culture.
Instructions
1. Students enjoy reflection through technology such as using PowerPoint.
Instruct students that they will be creating their own culture. Teach students the different aspects of culture: food, language, clothing, environment, religion, architecture, national symbols and more. Have students use these elements in making a fictional culture and presenting it on a poster board or a PowerPoint. Have everyone share their creative cultures with the class. Tell students to reflect on what they learned about culture by writing a half page to a page summary on the project.
2. A multicultural fair can be as large or as small as a teacher wishes.
Put on a multicultural fair. Students will research another county and the culture. The student will prepare a presentation or research paper on the assigned country/culture. The student will present the information learned at a multicultural classroom or school-wide fair. Students can reflect on what they have learned by writing about it or by discussing it aloud.
3. Collages are fun to make, and this one will lead to cultural reflection.
Make a culture collage. Have students divide a poster board in half. On one half they will cut and paste articles and make drawings that represent American culture. On the other half of the poster, they should focus on another ethnic group and choose articles that represent that particular ethnic group. Then the poster can be used to compare/contrast the two ethnicities. Students can reflect on what they have learned by writing or dicussion after viewing all posters.
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