Students perform the Spanish flamenco dance.
Photo by Aryn Lockhart
As educators, we are eager to provide cultural experiences for our students. Songs, dances, traditional dress, food, and relevant objects are wonderful ways to interest students in a variety of cultures. But when you take it a step further to incorporate the human context, you’ll create truly memorable experiences that convey the vitality and vibrancy of a living culture. Some ideas:
Whenever possible, involve people from different cultures in your classroom activities. Consider hosting a guest (perhaps a friend or relative of yours or your students) to tell stories, demonstrate traditions, and begin a conversation with your students.
Talk to your students about your own cultural heritage. Bring along some special possessions or photos and speak personally about what these items mean to you. Have a day on which your students can do the same.
With the class sitting in a circle, give students an opportunity to tell the story of their name, including what it means, where it came from, and its significance to their family. You may want to give students time to prepare for this exercise in advance by having them talk about it with their family at home.
For celebrations of a cultural holiday, help your students learn the appropriate greetings. Identify friends or relatives (your own or your students’) who are celebrating the holiday. Reach out to them by telephone or video conference to wish them holiday greetings in their language. Ask them to share how they are celebrating the holiday.
Play recordings and videos of music from different cultures, and give as much context as possible. Discuss whether the music is for dancing, working, ceremonies, celebrations, enjoyment, putting babies to sleep, or another function. Compare listening to music performed live to recorded music. For videos, try the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage archive.
For older students, film is often a wonderful way to bring a culture to life. One website that streams cultural films for free is Folkstreams.
Invite an artist from the culture you are exploring to speak with or perform for your students. Better yet, consider an artist residency, in which an artist does a series of visits, to help students learn to dance, make music, and create artwork. Look to your local performing arts center, your state arts agency (which might also offer funding support), or a national organization like to help connect you with local artists. When personal visits aren’t possible, check for online resources like the Kennedy Center’s , which offers free broadcasts of lectures, performances, and demos by a variety of artists.
Oral history projects can be a lot of fun for students of any age. With your class, brainstorm a list of questions for students to ask their parents, grandparents, other relatives, or neighbors. Students can record their answers in writing or with audio or video. You may want to use these interviews as the basis for a larger project that integrates social studies, writing, and media skills. Allow plenty of time for students to share what they learn.
If possible, take a field trip. Contact a cultural center, neighborhood organization, or religious center to arrange a historical tour with someone from that community.
With a bit of planning and creativity, you can create memorable occasions for your students to discover the joy of learning about other cultures. Drawing upon your own personal connections and those of your students, you may be surprised at the breadth of cultures and experiences you can easily bring into your classroom. The connections you make and the resources you discover have the potential to enrich your classroom culture for years to come.
Writer
Anne Elise Thomas
Producer
Joanna McKee
Updated
September 23, 2019
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In this K-2 lesson, students will explore Navajo weavings by Navajo Peoples of North America. Students will choreograph a pattern of movements inspired by the weavings. Students will perform and discuss a pattern of movements for an audience.
In this K-2 lesson, students learn how some cultures dance, sing, chant, pray to a rain god, or use instruments to encourage the rain to come. They will explore these cultures through literature and song, then create a rainstick musical performance with a poem.
In this K-2 lesson, students will learn the history of the Chinese Lion Dance and create lion head puppets to perform in a parade. Students will learn about the traditional dance, the costumes that are worn, and the music that accompanies the dance performance.
In this 3-5 lesson, students will explore the holiday traditions, music, and art of Halloween and Día de los Muertos. Students will create an altar in memory of a loved one.
In this 3-5 lesson, students will analyze paintings depicting different types of weather to create an original landscape painting of a weather condition. They will analyze how weather influences culture, daily life, and mood. Students will use the elements of art criteria to discuss and critique paintings.
In this 6-8 lesson, students will create mandalas using mathematical concepts and skills. They will explore symmetry as well as the natural and man-made shapes found in mandalas. They will design a mandala, then analyze other students’ creative work for style and message.
In this 9-12 lesson, students will create original artwork demonstrating the style of an early 20th-century artist of the Mexican Revolution. They will research how art was influenced or created in response to major events, artists, and personalities of the Mexican Revolution.
In this 9-12 lesson, students will research and analyze the famous Cuban folk song, “Guantanamera.” The song was made famous by Pete Seeger with lyrics from a poem by José Martí. They will draw comparisons between the artists and discover the revolutionary history shared by the two men.
In this 9-12 lesson, students will learn about traditional Latin dance styles such as salsa, mambo, merengue, rumba, cha cha, bachata, and samba.
In this 3-5 lesson, students will explore how various cultures have contributed to making the United States the unique and diverse country that it is today. Students will create a class recipe book demonstrating the diverse flavors of their cultures.
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Generous support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by the U.S. Department of Education.
Gifts and grants to educational programs at the Kennedy Center are provided by The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; Bank of America; Capital One; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Carnegie Corporation of New York; The Ednah Root Foundation; Harman Family Foundation; William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust; the Kimsey Endowment; The Kiplinger Foundation; Laird Norton Family Foundation; Lois and Richard England Family Foundation; Dr. Gary Mather and Ms. Christina Co Mather; The Markow Totevy Foundation; Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation; The Morningstar Foundation; Myra and Leura Younker Endowment Fund; The Irene Pollin Audience Development and Community Engagement Initiatives;
Prince Charitable Trusts; Dr. Deborah Rose and Dr. Jan A. J. Stolwijk; Rosemary Kennedy Education Fund; The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates; The Victory Foundation; The Volgenau Foundation; Volkswagen Group of America; Jackie Washington; GRoW @ Annenberg and Gregory Annenberg Weingarten and Family; Wells Fargo; and generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas. Additional support is provided by the National Committee for the Performing Arts..
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