The key to cultural competence is learning about cultures around the world. The book Children Like Me sparks curiosity about different cultures. Youth make a simple keychain to represent the different cultures they can learn about with the key that helps them open doors....
We define culture and explore the cultural traits of individuals and the group collectively.
Our communities may have people from many cultures and there may be many different languages spoken. Sparked by a playful video of kids teaching other kids their languages, we explore the languages represented in our communities. ...
Cultures are sometimes represented through clothing items like head wear or colors. These clothing items can be very meaningful and important, and it is respectful to learn about others and what their cultural expression means to them. It is never okay to mock someone for what they wear or to...
Youth reflect on the lessons they have learned through building cultural competence in this unit. They identify an adult they trust to have critical, or difficult, conversations. ...
In this lesson, we broaden our awareness of different cultures and how they celebrate holidays. An optional service project includes writing letters to request diverse holidays be added to the community calendar, if they aren't already observed.
Students gain empathy and use language to describe the mixed feelings that come with being new to a community. They watch and discuss video clips and compare character traits. Then they read a book and discuss how the book guides them to welcome new students to the classroom as the year...
#ToteChallenge: Young people investigate the problems caused by plastic shopping bags, then propose solutions they can take to address the problems. They brainstorm uses for plastic bags. This lesson gives guidelines to design a reusable shopping tote out of an old T-shirt using...
Young people explore what it means to be an environmentalist. They work in small groups to research the facts and possible solultions related to an environmental issue. The ultimate goal of the unit is to empower young people to share their knowledge (talent) and make others aware of...
Young people perform their puppet plays in order to teach others about environmental issues. They reflect on this project by writing an answer to some essential questions of the unit: What does it mean to be a philanthropist? What does it mean to be an environmentalist?