Lower School
Multicultural Resources andTeaching Tolerance back to top
Multicultural Education: Teaching and Learning Lesson Plans and Curriculum Resources
Multicultural Lesson Plans
Multicultural Passport
SchoolWorld Multicultural Calendar
Multicultural Education
Sixteen lesson plans from The Educator's Reference Desk (formerly Ask Eric)
Jeffco Multicultural Lesson Plans
Many multicultural lesson plans for a variety of grade levels.
"Unite the School" Lesson Plan
This is an interesting interdisciplinary lesson plan celebrating diversity.
America: A Home for Every Culture
A lesson plan for grades 3-4 consisting of ten 45-minute sessions.
Multicultural Pavilion
Provides a working definition, original essays and articles, a teacher's corner with classroom activities and resources, as well as links to a variety of multicultural sites.
Changing Attitudes in America
Contains six lesson plans related to racism as well as a great deal of background information .
EDSITEMent
Interesting lesson plans in a variety of subjects. Though not all the lesson plans are multicultural, they do all seem to be of high quality. All require students to use the Internet. Perhaps a good source for confluent education ideas
Multicultural Calendar A calendar of holidays and events celebrated around the world.
Teaching Tolerance
Teaching Tolerance
Find lessons and materials about topics relevant to many situations such as nontraditional families, general stereotypes, Native Americans, sexism, racism, violence/Conflict resolution, human rights and more. You will find a healthy variety of materials based on videos, songs, poems, photographs, reading texts, and more. It is hard to tell the age group it is intended for. Lessons will have to be adapted for your grade. Click on the lessons below to go directly to some of their relevant lessons:
Native Americans
Embracing Diversity
Heros
Brainstorming on Tolerance
Lessons on General Stereotypes
Lessons about Racism
Writing Topics
Gay and Lesbian Issues
Non-traditional Families
Lessons about Violence and Conflict Resolution
Kid Space This site's mission is to "foster literacy, artistic expression and cross-cultural understanding among the world's children." For example, using a drawing by a Japanese girl named Midori as inspiration, an American boy names Brad crafts a story about the friendship of a kangaroo and a koala bear. It's the sharing of creativity at this site that keeps kids from all over the world coming back. Here they meet pen pals and display their stories, drawings and musical compositions.
Kid Link Here's proof you're never too young to try improving global relations. This amazing site has brought together 110,000 kids from around the world to discuss problems affecting their countries and to work together to solve them. Projects have included compiling an international cookbook and studying the cultures of various countries; the kids often learn they have as many similarities as they do differences.
Teaching Tolerance: The People's Attorney
A lesson plan for grades 4-6 investigating the life of Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish-American appointed to the Supreme Court. Go to Tolerance.org for additional tolerance-related resources and lesson plans.
Promoting Tolerance
A cooperative learning lesson plan in which students write, design, and illustrate a children's book incorporating the themes of equality, acceptance, tolerance, and respect. See also Boundary Breaker Topics.
”Bursting” Stereotypes
Balloons serve as the conduit for this lesson in which students “burst” stereotypes. (Grades 2-12)
Teaching R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Five lessons that to help you weave the theme of respect into your curriculum and classroom routine. You can go directly to the sites by clicking below
Everybody Is Unique: A Lesson in Respect for Others
Teach respect for others' unique qualities. (Grades K-8)
Simon Says "Who Are You?"
Play a variation of Simon Says to highlight people's similarities and differences. (Grades K-5)
RESPECT Popcorn Party
Reinforce respect by celebrating examples of it in your classroom. Student work sheet included. (Grades K-8)
Positively Respectful
Create a positive environment by teaching students to show respect and share compliments. (Grades K-8)
Property: Ownership, Respect, and Responsibility
Students learn to respect others' property by rating the severity of a variety of damaging acts. (Grades K-12)
How Tolerant Are Kids in Your School?
Students graph results of a survey of attitudes and tolerance in their school. (Grades 6-12 but can be adapted for 3rd or 4th grade)
Those Tear-Me-Apart, Put-Me-Back-Together, Never-Be-the-Same-Again Blues
This powerful activity illustrates how unkind words can hurt. (Grades PreK-8)
Teaching About Tolerance Through Music
Invite students to analyze the lyrics of Peter, Paul and Mary songs that express themes of tolerance. (Grades 3-12)
Everybody Is Unique: A Lesson in Respect for Others’ Difference
Teach about respect fo reach others unique qualities in this lesson that compines art and language arts
Multiculturalpedia - A Dictionary for Learning Different Cultures the Fun Way
A fun web sites exploring different customs in different countries. i.e. what do you do when losing baby teeth, when people sneeze. The good ideas are on the left on the home page.
In the following three sites, students will need access to classroom or school computers with Internet access. Assign or let students select one or more of the online games to work through with a partner:
It's My Life: Beat the Bully. In this game, students answer a series of questions about dealing with bullying.
Story Strips Children choose from a list of scenerios and choose bubbles to show how they think they would respond to a situation
Out on A Limb: A Guide to Getting Along Students learn the three ways people;e usually react to conflict and the best way to handle it
The following are companion lessons for the book Cootie Shots, a book of plays, skits and poems that aims to "innoculate" children against bigotry.
All the Adams in The Worl Grades 3-6 Adam, an autistic child, is teased by two other children.
Anyone For Double Dutch Grades K-6 While jumping rope and tossing a football, four children get past gender stereotypes and name calling.
At Your Age?! Grades K-6 A senior citizen and a young boy compare notes and decide they won’t let themselves be diminished by other people’s ideas about how people should act “at their age.”
Bright Orange Fingernails Grades K-6 Little Rodney is eager to show Dad his painted nails. Dad responds surprisingly well.
Cap'n Crunch Grades 3-6 A Poem by Bonnie Eaton - A young Asian-American girl deals with issues of weight and loneliness.
Chocolate Face Grades K-2 A poem about the joys of being the color you are.
Cooties Grades K-6 Children learn that they can't get “cooties” from people who are different from them.
Courage Grades 3-6 A song about a child who learns, from history class, the importance of tolerance and inclusion.
Credo Grades K-6 An inspirational poem about our uniqueness and our common destiny to make this world a better place.
Doing the Right Thing Grades 3-6 A student enlists the help of her parents and teacher in response to teasing.
Duke Who Outlawed Jelly Beans, The Grades K-6 A stage adaptation of the classic by Johnny Valentine about children who stand up against unfair laws and people.
Fair Play Grades 3-6 Children explore a variety of ways to respond when they witness teasing and bullying
Four Heroes Grades 3-6 Kids share stories on various community leaders such as Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony, Cesar Chavez and Harvey Milk
Liberty! Grades 3-6 In Chris Well’s adaptation for young audiences of his own one-man show by the same title, the Statue of Liberty humorously describes the rights and liberties she symbolizes.
Love What You Cook K-2 Two girls share stories and learn how food brings people of different backgrounds together.
Matzoh Grades 3-6 A friendship between a Jewish girl and an African-American girl deepens during Passover as they share stories about their heritage.
Mother Nature Grades K-2 While baking cookies, Mother Nature shows us how wonderful and varied humans can be.
Moving Grades K-2 A Dr. Seussian celebration of diversity and of liking yourself exactly as you are.
Ripple Effect Grades K-6 A poem about the big and little ways we each can make a difference in the world
Same World Grades K- An upbeat R&B song celebrating the fact that no matter how different we may seem, we all belong to the same world.
She’s a Real Spaz Grades 3-6 A young girl with Cerebral Palsy makes a new friend when she tries out for the cheerleading team.
Shy Kevin & Curious Joe Grades K-8 Joe and Kevin become friends at school. Joe learns that Kevin is deaf, can read lips, make sign language and learns about many famous and important people who are deaf.
Snooty Patooty Grades K-6 A young boy learns a valuable lesson about name-calling.
Student Teachers Grades K-6 A young Moslem girl explains to a Mormon classmate what it means to her to believe in Islam
That Race Place Grades 3-6 Three people have an encounter charged with racial slurs.
The Birthday Party Grades 3-6 A young African American girl’s classmates are scared to come to her birthday party because it is in a “dangerous neighborhood.
The Child’s Spirit Grades K-6 A young Kuwaiti boy learns from his grandmother that is no need to fear something or someone just because one doesn’t understand it.
The Golden Rule Grades K-6 Children discover how people with religious beliefs and those without may have different traditions, but similar philosophies.
The Other Side of The Fence Grades 3- Two neighbor children learn about each other’s families and cultures as they prepare for Halloween and Dias de los Muertos.
The Parable of the Stimples Grades K-6 A Seussian tale about a young boy who gets discriminated against for making funny noises
The War of The Stuck Up Noses Grades 3-6 A new girl in school helps everyone see that what’s in your heart is more important than the label on your jeans.
What Color is Your Mama? Grades K-2 During an art project, a group of first grade students learn not to make assumptions about people or their families based on their skin color.
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Multicultural Children's Literature back to top
Boulder Public Library, Children's Library, Multicultural Books for Children and Young Adults
A series of booklists stressing the importance of the stories, lives, and work of different cultural groups in the United States. These lists were created by Jennifer Ann Fakolt and the staff of the Boulder Public Library Children's Library in 1995.
Diversity Calendar
Sponsored by the University of Kansas, this is not a literature bibliography, but a great jumping off place for information about Diverse Cultures.
International Children's Digital Library
The ICDL is a joint effort by the University of Maryland's Human-Computer Interaction Lab and The Internet Archive, to create an extensive library of international children's literature and make it available worldwide. The site makes hundreds of children's books freely available on the Web-- fully illustrated, and in their original languages.
Annotated Bibliography of Children's Literature focusing on Latino people, history, and culture
This bibliography was compiled by Amy Goldenberg, as a first year Graduate student at UCLA in the Department of Library and Information Science, in March 1995. It provides a sentence or two about each book and a suggested grade level.
Brave Girls and Strong Women: A special collection of books from small publishers for ages 2-17
This list was compiled by Jyotsna Sreenivasan for Amazon.com bookstore. It offers cover pictures, summaries and purchase links for the listed books. Books are arranged by reading level.
Oyate
Oyate is a Native organization working to see that Native American lives and histories are portrayed honestly, so that "all people will know our stories belong to us." This is a commercial site that also offers valuable information. See their "Books to Avoid" section for a list of books that misrepresent Native American cultures.
Multicultural Literature Lessons
Making Multicultural Connections Through Trade Books
Multicultural literature lesson plans. Click on a book and then "illustrative lesson."
Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky
A TeacherView with suggested activities and a review.
A Teacher's Guide to Afro-American Children's Literature and History
From the Children's Literature Nook, this site offers an annotated bibliography of African-American children's books, criteria for selecting books for classroom use, lesson ideas, and many links.
Meet Rosa Parks
An on-line interview as well as lesson plans and resources.
Understanding Hispanic/Latino Culture and History Through Children’s Literature
An elaborate unit plan with three sample lesson plans and a bibliography.
La Casa en Mango Street (Sandra Cisneros)
A Score CyberGuide en Espanol! See also Click here to access a Teacher's Resource File with other lesson plans for this author.
Moving Words: Asian Immigration
Four lesson plans on Asian-American immigration. Also, take a look at Teaching the Chinese Immigrant's Story - Angel Island (1910-1940), another unit on Chinese-American immigration.
Discussing Immigration Through Literature
A unit on Asian-American immigrants using the following books: Coming to America, Betsy Maestro;The Lotus Seed, Sherry Garland; and Grandfather's Journey, Allen Say.
Teaching With Asian Children's Literature
A thematic unit for K-6.
An Integrated Unit on Classic Philippine Folk Tales About Fruits
A unit from TASSI.
An Integrated Unit on Friendship Implementing Asian-American Children's Literature
A unit integrating Asian-American children's literature and the theme of friendship.
American Girls Through Time and Trial
An elementary unit focusing on women of different cultures, races, and religions. It includes three books featuring diverse American women from specific time periods.
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Multicultural Art back to top
Melissa's Myriad- masks and Melissa's Bear Claws
Multicultural art lessons fr K-2
Art Activities and Lesson Plans for Exploring Tolerance
A long list of activities. Many of them are art activities.
One-World Mural Project
A lesson plan for grades K-3.
African Art and Culture
A unit for grades K-4 from from Arts Edge.
Collage and Romare Bearden
An elementary art lesson plan on the work of African American artist Romare Bearden.
Religious Beliefs Made Visual: Geometry and Islam
Classroom activities designed to show how Islamic art can provide important insights into the technology, scientific knowledge, and religious beliefs of Moslems.
Islamic Foil Art
This art activity, which is appropriate for many grade levels, may be just what you need for your multidisciplinary unit on Islam.
Finishing Sadako's Cranes
A 4th-grade lesson plan on origami using Eleanor Coerr's book Sadako and the Thousand Cranes.
Japan: Images of People
A unit designed to help students understand Japanese painting and culture.
An Introduction to Mexican Art and Culture Through the "Day of the Dead"
An art activity based on this Mexican holiday celebrated October 31 through November 2.
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Multicultural Music Lessons and Resources back to top
Music in Africa
A 2nd-grade lesson plan.
Musical Harlem
A K-4 lesson plan in which students learn to identify musical forms and musicians associated with Harlem.
What Does this Song Really Say
Another K-4 lesson plan focusing on African-American spirituals.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Seventy-plus music lesson plans, many of which have multicultural elements.
Teaching About Tolerance Through Music
Invite students to analyze the lyrics of Peter, Paul and Mary songs that express themes of tolerance. (Grades 3-12)
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Multicultural Math Activities back to top
Frisbie's Multicultural Math Fair
From Frisbie Middle School, this site provides information about this event as well as specific information about each learning station. Click on Multicultural Fair 1999-2000 for descriptions of additional activities.
Marlys Henke's Cultural Relevance Model
Seven lesson plans developed by Marlys Henke, an award-winning math teacher from St. Paul, that incorporate the contributions of diverse cultures and people into the regular math curriculum.
Multicultural Math Lessons
Five lesson plans created by Patricia Donovan.
Religious Beliefs Made Visual: Geometry and Islam
Classroom activities designed to help students understand that the geometric patterns that characterize so much of Islamic art provide important insights into the technology, scientific knowledge, and religious beliefs of Moslems.
The Greatest Black Mathematicians
Profiles of 400 Great Black Mathematicians
Black Women in Mathematics
A Modern History of Blacks in Mathematics
Play Mancala
An African math game. See also Mancala for another online version of this game.
Ancient Egyptian Mathematics
An activity dealing with the calculation of pi.
Egyptian Numerals
Scroll down the page to try out some Egyptian math problems. For more information, see Egyptian Fractions,An Odd Egyptian Puzzle, and Hypatia of Alexandria.
Native American Geometry
Information and resources for teachers.
Symmetry and Pattern: The Art of Oriental Carpets
Information and instructional activities.
Maya Mathematics
Information on the Mayan number system.
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Multicultural Science Lessons and Resources back to top
Alaska Native Knowledge Network
Science units based on native ways of knowing. See their new Handbook for Culturally Responsive Science Curriculum.
Eggs
An elementary lesson plan about how different cultures use eggs through the integration of art, math, science, and social studies.
Using Multicultural Literature with Science
An Internet-based elementary lesson plan.
Myths, Legends, and Moon Phases
A multidisciplinary lesson plan for upper-elementary or middle school from New Horizons for Learning. It can be adapted for lower elementary grades.
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Multicultural Celebrations
An Introduction to Mexican Art and Culture Through the "Day of the Dead"
An art activity based on this Mexican holiday celebrated October 31 through November 2.
Multicultural Calendar
A calendar of holidays and events celebrated around the world.
Columbus Day: Native American Perspective
A lesson plan for 4th/5th grade.
"Hispanic Celebration" Lesson Plan
This is an interesting lesson with many links and resources.
Cinco de Mayo
Lesson plans, activities, and thematic units.
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Non-traditional Families
Gay and Lesbian Families Understanding Families with Gay and Lesbian Parents
A lesson plan for grades K-6.
The following are companion lessons for the book Cootie Shots, a book of plays, skits and poems that aims to "innoculate" children against bigotry.
A Different Family Grades K-3 A short and sweet play about a young, adopted girl, her gay dad and her best friend.
America Didn’t Crumble Grades K-6 Statements from Sol Kelley-Jones, a 10-year-old girl, made to the Wisconsin State Legislature about life with her two moms, comparing their rights as a family to those of slaves two-hundred years ago.
Big Love Grades K-2 A Dr. Seussian celebration of all different types of families.
Ode to Parents Grades K-2 A song that’s sung to the tune of Beethoven’s Ode To Joy celebrating the many varieties of parents.
Play Wedding Grades K-2 Two little girls play dolls and talk about a wedding between two men one of them attended.
The Princess Petunia Grades K-6 A fairy tale about a princess who helps her father to see that everyone should be free to marry whomever he or she loves
That’s a Family! Grades K-5 Real photos and text from, “That’s A Family,” a documentary created by Debra Chasnoff and Helen Cohen. The project follows kids across America describing their diverse families.
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Women back to top
4000 Years of Women in Science
Great site for information on women in science. See also Women in Science for a Web-based activity.
Women in World History Curriculum
Sample lesson plans for women's history. 3rd/4th grade (and Upper School)
Exceptional Women
An Internet-based history activity exploring the right to vote.
Susan B. Anthony Day
A grade 3-4 mini-unit for celebrating Susan B. Anthony Day (February 15). Click here for a grade 4-5 lesson plan on Susan B. Anthony.
Images of girls and Women as Portrayed in the Media
A well-done WebQuest for fourth grade and up.
Biographies of Women Mathematicians
WWWomen.com
Links to sites about women and women's issues.
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Civil Rights back to top
Historic Places of the Civil Rights Movement
From the National Register of Historic Places, this page would be an excellent resource for putting together a WebQuest on the civil rights movement. 4th grade and up.
Tuskegee Tragedy
A WebQuest exploring this exploring this dark medical experiment and its victims. 4th grade and up.
Little Rock 9
A collaborative webquest on integration in schools.4th grade and up.
Jackie Robinson, Civil Rights Advocate
Information, documents, and lesson plans about Jackie Robinson's role in the Civil Rights movement. Scroll down the page for the lesson plans. 4th grade and up.
Famous Person: Rosa Louis Parks
A unit for grades 3 or 4 using The Story of Ruby Bridges. See also Meet Rosa Parks for an on-line interview as well as additional lesson plans and resources.
Ruby Bridges
A 2nd or 3rd-grade unit on Ruby Bridges and her contributions to the Civil Rights movement.
Opening Doors to Social Studies with Children's Literature: Take Seat or Get off the Bus
A unit for 5th-grade using the book Mississippi Bridge by Mildred D. Taylor.May be adapted for 4th grade.
Martin Luther King 's "I Have a Dream Speech."
No lesson on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is complete without reference to this speech from August 28, 1963. The above site offers a transcription as well as an audio file. See also the Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project for other speeches, sermons, papers, and articles.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
for 3rd or 4th grade
All About MLK's life: An Overview
for grades 2,3
MLK Theme Unit (from EdHelper)
timelines, crossword puzzles, story prompts and more for 2nd, 3rd, 4th grades.
Mini Unit for MLK Day
for 3rd, 4th or 5th grade
Who Was Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.?
A kindergarten lesson plan.
Martin Luther King Jr. Was a Great Civil Rights Leader
A literature-based lesson plan for the 1st grade.
The Picture Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.
A review and suggested 1st-grade teaching activities for using this book by Margaret B. Young.
Martin Luther King Day
An interdisciplinary unit for grades 3-4.
Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
A mini-unit for grades 4-5.
Timeline of selected event in the Civil rights movement
Gay and Lesbian Characgtres and Themes in Children's Books
An annotated Bibliography
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African Amercians
Units on African American Culture
Units for all curricular areas .
Patchwork of African American Life
Includes six Web sites were created as models to suggest ways to integrate the World Wide Web into classroom learning. Read the blurbs in this site to help you decide which activities you might want to
Afro-Americ@: Kids Zone Blending interactive activities with culturally rich insights, this site is a fun and informative resource for children in the lower elementary school grades. Brainteasers and word scramblers, fables, myths and profiles of African countries enlighten students. Many games require Shock Wave to play them.
1850's: Two Faces of Slavery
A teacher's guide with a lesson activity. (4th grade and up)
Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
A timeline, quiz, sketches, crossword puzzles, etc. all put together by a 2nd-grade class! Click on Classroom Activities to access lesson plans and units on Harriet Tubman from a variety of sources.
Two Tickets to Freedom
A 5th-grade lesson plan based on this book about the dangerous journey of two fugitive slaves.
Sojourner Truth
A mini-unit for grades 4-5 about this woman who was the first prominent African-American directly associated with the women's suffrage movement.
Mary McLeod Bethune
A mini-unit for grades 4-5 on this African-American educator.
Famous Person: Andrew Young
A mini-unit for grades 4-5.
From Jim Crow To Linda Brown
An elaborate lesson involving a study of the famous court case, Plessy v. Ferguson (1897); a simulation of the Afro-American Council Meeting in 1898 using African American Perspectives: Pamphlets from the Daniel A. P. Murray Collection, 1818-1907; and the creation of a similar meeting of the Afro-American Council prior to the landmark Brown vs, the Board of Education case in 1954.
After Reconstruction: Problems of African Americans in the South
A lesson plan using the Internet to access pamphlets and other materials, most of which were written by African American authors about pressing issues of the day.
FREDERICK DOUGLASS: A Brief Biography and Exercise.
Information and a classroom activity for grades 4-8 on this prominent 19th-century African American leader. See also Frederick Douglass, a unit for grades 5-6.
George Washington Carver
A 3rd or 4th-grade unit.
Black History - Click on "Treasure Hunt" or "Web Quest" for on-line activities.
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Hispanics
Too Many Tamales
Cross-disciplinary lesson ideas for teaching with this book by Gary Soto.
Especially for Spanish Classes: This site was created out of a concern over the lack of resources and lesson plans available. It is based on the "Hot Internet Sites in Español" presentation. Various links are followed wit suggestions given along the way as to how they can be incorporated into a learning environment. It is divided into four sections: a brief description of hotlists, activities and resources for elementary students, activities and resource for middle/high school students, and links to professional bilingual educator sites, internet tutorials and other resources.
Understanding Latino Culture Through the Use of Children's Literature
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (9/16 to 10/15)
This is a free thematic unit provided by the Homeschool Learning Network. It includes 8 lessons, complete with resources, worksheets and links to relevant sites
Integrating the influence of Latin American Music Throughout the Curriculum
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Asians
Children's Day
Classic Philippine Folk Tale about Fruit
Discussing immigration through Literature
Korea
Moon Folk Tales
Teaching Creation Myths: A Thematic Unit on Asian
Ancient Chinese Inventions can be adapted to any grade level
An Integrated Unit on Friendship using Asian American children's literature
Court of Kyoto - incorporated haiku, chinese writing, terrific literature and good writing assingments about the Court of Kyoto
Gestures - how gestures differ across cultures
Ooka, The Honest Thief - Litereature study on the meaning of honesty and dishonesty in different cultures
Teaching with Asian Children's Literature - A Thematic Study for K-6
Asian Indian Immigration
A 10-lesson 4th or 5th-grade unit exploring the concept of immigration through the in-depth study of Indian immigrants and their effect on the culture of the United States.
Japan Studies Leadership Program
Many lesson plans about Japan and Japanese-Americans that are fun and appropriate for young children.
Yushiko Uchida
An elementary unit on Japanese culture and how it influenced the life of Yushiko Uchida, a Japanese-American author of The Bracelet.
Tassi - Children's Day
A multicultural unit that introduces primary-grade students to the customs and traditions of Japan.
Culture of Japan
Links to lessons and activities about festivals, food, religion, buildings, and history of Japan.
China: Dim Sum: A Connection to Chinese American Culture
Lesson plans across the curriculum! Learn to use chop sticks, write Chinese characters, Chinese folk tales, and more.
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Immigration
Immigration: Coming to America
An online activity complete with a teacher's guide.
Immigration: Where I Come From.
Although this lesson states that it is for 5th grade, it can be adapted for lower grades. It is a good lesson.
America: A Home for Every Culture
A lesson plan for grades 3-4 consisting of ten 45-minute sessions.
Diversity and Ellis Island
Thematic unit introducing the concept of immigration and citizenship by first exploring the diversity of people for primary grades. Good list of Ellis Island web sites, books and videos. Useful activities such as how to set up a pen-pal exchange.
Immigration Curriculum Resource Site
Lesson plans for a variety of grade levels from the American Immigration Law Foundation.
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Homelessness and Refugees
Jane Addams
A mini-unit connecting the historic work of Jane Addams to the current issue of homelessness in America.
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Native Americans
Native Americans
Resources for Native American languages
Native AmericanThematic Units for Primary Grades
Native Americans Lesson Plans
Native American Collaborative Unit
A primary-grade unit complete with Internet resources.
Exploring Native Americans Across the Curriculum
Lesson ideas in a variety of subject areas from Education World. See also Activities to Celebrate Native American Heritage.
Native American Lessons and Units
A long list of Native American lessons and units from Mr. Donn's site.
Celebrate Native American Cultures
Six elementary lesson plans from school districts in Wisconsin.
Traditions and Languages of Three Native Cultures: Tlingit, Lakota, and Cherokee
A high-quality lesson plan in which students understand the importance of maintaining the traditions and languages of native cultures. They also learn to say a few words in each of the above languages.
Bison: Their Influence on World Cultures
Interesting site on Bison and the Plains Indians complete with lesson plans.
Kindergarten Theme: Native Americans
A variety of activities appropriate for kindergartners.
Columbus Day: Native American Perspective
A lesson plan for 4th/5th grade.
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Jewish Americans
Teaching Tolerance: The People's Attorney
A lesson plan for grades 4-6 investigating the life of Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish-American appointed to the Supreme Court.
The Power of Community to Stop Hate Crimes
A 4th-grade lesson plan dealing with prejudice, bigotry, bullying within the context of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
New Years Around the World
Scroll through the lesson plans in this elementary unit to find the Lesson Plan Days 5 and 6: The Jewish New Year.
Blue Monday and Friends: Traditional Jewish Holidays Come Alive Through The Art of Story-Telling
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Arab Culture and Society
A Moroccan Fairy Tale vs. European Folk/Fairy Tale
An elementary-grade lesson plan.
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Upper School
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Multicultural Resources andTeaching Tolerance back to top
Multicultural Education: Teaching and Learning Lesson Plans and Curriculum Resources
Multicultural Lesson Plans
Multicultural Passport
SchoolWorld Multicultural Calendar
Multicultural Education
Sixteen lesson plans from The Educator's Reference Desk (formerly Ask Eric)
Jeffco Multicultural Lesson Plans
Many multicultural lesson plans for a variety of grade levels.
"Unite the School" Lesson Plan
This is an interesting interdisciplinary lesson plan celebrating diversity.
America: A Home for Every Culture
A lesson plan for grades 3-4 consisting of ten 45-minute sessions.
Multicultural Pavilion
Provides a working definition, original essays and articles, a teacher's corner with classroom activities and resources, as well as links to a variety of multicultural sites.
Changing Attitudes in America
Contains six lesson plans related to racism as well as a great deal of background information .
EDSITEMent
Interesting lesson plans in a variety of subjects. Though not all the lesson plans are multicultural, they do all seem to be of high quality. All require students to use the Internet. Perhaps a good source for confluent education ideas
Multicultural Calendar A calendar of holidays and events celebrated around the world.
Teaching Tolerance
Teaching Tolerance
Find lessons and materials about topics relevant to many situations such as nontraditional families, general stereotypes, Native Americans, sexism, racism, violence/Conflict resolution, human rights and more. You will find a healthy variety of materials based on videos, songs, poems, photographs, reading texts, and more. It is hard to tell the age group it is intended for. Lessons will have to be adapted for your grade. Click on the lessons below to go directly to some of their relevant lessons:
Native Americans
Embracing Diversity
Heros
Brainstorming on Tolerance
Lessons on General Stereotypes
Lessons about Racism
Writing Topics
Gay and Lesbian Issues
Non-traditional Families
Lessons about Violence and Conflict Resolution
Kid Link Here's proof you're never too young to try improving global relations. This amazing site has brought together 110,000 kids from around the world to discuss problems affecting their countries and to work together to solve them. Projects have included compiling an international cookbook and studying the cultures of various countries; the kids often learn they have as many similarities as they do differences.
Teaching Tolerance: The People's Attorney
A lesson plan for grades 4-6 investigating the life of Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish-American appointed to the Supreme Court. Go to Tolerance.org for additional tolerance-related resources and lesson plans.
Promoting Tolerance
A cooperative learning lesson plan in which students write, design, and illustrate a children's book incorporating the themes of equality, acceptance, tolerance, and respect. See also Boundary Breaker Topics.
”Bursting” Stereotypes
Balloons serve as the conduit for this lesson in which students “burst” stereotypes. (Grades 2-12)
Teaching R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Five lessons that to help you weave the theme of respect into your curriculum and classroom routine. You can go directly to the sites by clicking below.
Everybody Is Unique: A Lesson in Respect for Others
Teach respect for others' unique qualities. (Grades K-8)
Simon Says "Who Are You?"
Play a variation of Simon Says to highlight people's similarities and differences. (Grades K-5)
RESPECT Popcorn Party
Reinforce respect by celebrating examples of it in your classroom. Student work sheet included. (Grades K-8)
Positively Respectful
Create a positive environment by teaching students to show respect and share compliments. (Grades K-8)
Property: Ownership, Respect, and Responsibility
Students learn to respect others' property by rating the severity of a variety of damaging acts. (Grades K-12)
How Tolerant Are Kids in Your School?
Students graph results of a survey of attitudes and tolerance in their school. (Grades 6-12)
Those Tear-Me-Apart, Put-Me-Back-Together, Never-Be-the-Same-Again Blues
This powerful activity illustrates how unkind words can hurt. (Grades PreK-8)
Teaching About Tolerance Through Music
Invite students to analyze the lyrics of Peter, Paul and Mary songs that express themes of tolerance. (Grades 3-12)
Everybody Is Unique: A Lesson in Respect for Others’ Difference
Teach about respect fo reach others unique qualities in this lesson that compines art and language arts
Multiculturalpedia - A Dictionary for Learning Different Cultures the Fun Way
A fun web sites exploring different customs in different countries. i.e. what do you do when losing baby teeth, when people sneeze. The good ideas are on the left on the home page.
An Approach to Teaching Religious Tolerance
A high school lesson plan from The Educator's Reference Desk.
Understanding Stereotypes
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 from Discovery.com.
Discrimination
A 6th-grade lesson plan from the Social Studies School Service
In the following three sites, students will need access to classroom or school computers with Internet access. Assign or let students select one or more of the online games to work through with a partner:
It's My Life: Beat the Bully. In this game, students answer a series of questions about dealing with bullying.
Story Strips Children choose from a list of scenerios and choose bubbles to show how they think they would respond to a situation
Out on A Limb: A Guide to Getting Along Students learn the three ways people;e usually react to conflict and the best way to handle it
The following are companion lessons for the book Cootie Shots, a book of plays, skits and poems that aims to "innoculate" children against bigotry.
All the Adams in The Worl Grades 3-6 Adam, an autistic child, is teased by two other children.
Anyone For Double Dutch Grades K-6 While jumping rope and tossing a football, four children get past gender stereotypes and name calling.
At Your Age?! Grades K-6 A senior citizen and a young boy compare notes and decide they won’t let themselves be diminished by other people’s ideas about how people should act “at their age.”
Bright Orange Fingernails Grades K-6 Little Rodney is eager to show Dad his painted nails. Dad responds surprisingly well.
Cap'n Crunch Grades 3-6 A Poem by Bonnie Eaton - A young Asian-American girl deals with issues of weight and loneliness.
Cooties Grades K-6 Children learn that they can't get “cooties” from people who are different from them.
Courage Grades 3-6 A song about a child who learns, from history class, the importance of tolerance and inclusion.
Credo Grades K-6 An inspirational poem about our uniqueness and our common destiny to make this world a better place.
Doing the Right Thing Grades 3-6 A student enlists the help of her parents and teacher in response to teasing.
Duke Who Outlawed Jelly Beans, The Grades K-6 A stage adaptation of the classic by Johnny Valentine about children who stand up against unfair laws and people.
Fair Play Grades 3-6 Children explore a variety of ways to respond when they witness teasing and bullying
Four Heroes Grades 3-6 Kids share stories on various community leaders such as Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony, Cesar Chavez and Harvey Milk
Liberty! Grades 3-6 In Chris Well’s adaptation for young audiences of his own one-man show by the same title, the Statue of Liberty humorously describes the rights and liberties she symbolizes.
Matzoh Grades 3-6 A friendship between a Jewish girl and an African-American girl deepens during Passover as they share stories about their heritage.
Ripple Effect Grades K-6 A poem about the big and little ways we each can make a difference in the world
Same World Grades K-6 An upbeat R&B song celebrating the fact that no matter how different we may seem, we all belong to the same world.
She’s a Real Spaz Grades 3-6 A young girl with Cerebral Palsy makes a new friend when she tries out for the cheerleading team.
Shy Kevin & Curious Joe Grades K-8 Joe and Kevin become friends at school. Joe learns that Kevin is deaf, can read lips, make sign language and learns about many famous and important people who are deaf.
Snooty Patooty Grades K-6 A young boy learns a valuable lesson about name-calling.
Student Teachers Grades K-6 A young Moslem girl explains to a Mormon classmate what it means to her to believe in Islam
That Race Place Grades 3-6 Three people have an encounter charged with racial slurs.
The Birthday Party Grades 3-6 A young African American girl’s classmates are scared to come to her birthday party because it is in a “dangerous neighborhood.
The Child’s Spirit Grades K-6 A young Kuwaiti boy learns from his grandmother that is no need to fear something or someone just because one doesn’t understand it.
The Golden Rule Grades K-6 Children discover how people with religious beliefs and those without may have different traditions, but similar philosophies.
The Other Side of The Fence Grades 3- Two neighbor children learn about each other’s families and cultures as they prepare for Halloween and Dias de los Muertos.
The Parable of the Stimples Grades K-6 A Seussian tale about a young boy who gets discriminated against for making funny noises
The War of The Stuck Up Noses Grades 3-6 A new girl in school helps everyone see that what’s in your heart is more important than the label on your jeans.
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Multicultural Children's Literature back to top
Boulder Public Library, Children's Library, Multicultural Books for Children and Young Adults
A series of booklists stressing the importance of the stories, lives, and work of different cultural groups in the United States. These lists were created by Jennifer Ann Fakolt and the staff of the Boulder Public Library Children's Library in 1995.
Diversity Calendar
Sponsored by the University of Kansas, this is not a literature bibliography, but a great jumping off place for information about Diverse Cultures.
International Children's Digital Library
The ICDL is a joint effort by the University of Maryland's Human-Computer Interaction Lab and The Internet Archive, to create an extensive library of international children's literature and make it available worldwide. The site makes hundreds of children's books freely available on the Web-- fully illustrated, and in their original languages.
Annotated Bibliography of Children's Literature focusing on Latino people, history, and culture
This bibliography was compiled by Amy Goldenberg, as a first year Graduate student at UCLA in the Department of Library and Information Science, in March 1995. It provides a sentence or two about each book and a suggested grade level.
Brave Girls and Strong Women: A special collection of books from small publishers for ages 2-17
This list was compiled by Jyotsna Sreenivasan for Amazon.com bookstore. It offers cover pictures, summaries and purchase links for the listed books. Books are arranged by reading level.
Oyate
Oyate is a Native organization working to see that Native American lives and histories are portrayed honestly, so that "all people will know our stories belong to us." This is a commercial site that also offers valuable information. See their "Books to Avoid" section for a list of books that misrepresent Native American cultures.
Multicultural Literature Lessons
Making Multicultural Connections Through Trade Books
Multicultural literature lesson plans. Click on a book and then "illustrative lesson."
Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky
A TeacherView with suggested activities and a review.
A Teacher's Guide to Afro-American Children's Literature and History
From the Children's Literature Nook, this site offers an annotated bibliography of African-American children's books, criteria for selecting books for classroom use, lesson ideas, and many links.
Meet Rosa Parks
An on-line interview as well as lesson plans and resources.
Opening Doors to Social Studies with Children's Literature: Take a Seat or Get off the Bus
A unit for 5th-grade using the book Mississippi Bridge by Mildred D. Taylor.
Similarities Between African Folktales and French Folktales
A unit for grades 7-12.
Understanding Hispanic/Latino Culture and History Through Children’s Literature
An elaborate unit plan with three sample lesson plans and a bibliography.
Puerto Rican Folktales
A unit for grades 7-12.
La Casa en Mango Street (Sandra Cisneros)
A Score CyberGuide en Espanol! See also Click here to access a Teacher's Resource File with other lesson plans for this author.
Moving Words: Asian Immigration
Four lesson plans on Asian-American immigration. Also, take a look at Teaching the Chinese Immigrant's Story - Angel Island (1910-1940), another unit on Chinese-American immigration.
Discussing Immigration Through Literature
A unit on Asian-American immigrants using the following books: Coming to America, Betsy Maestro;The Lotus Seed, Sherry Garland; and Grandfather's Journey, Allen Say.
Teaching With Asian Children's Literature
A thematic unit for K-6.
An Integrated Unit on Classic Philippine Folk Tales About Fruits
A unit from TASSI.
An Integrated Unit on Friendship Implementing Asian-American Children's Literature
A unit integrating Asian-American children's literature and the theme of friendship.
Women in Traditional China and their Portrayal in Chinese Folktales
A unit for grades 10-12.
Heroes and Heroines in the Family
A grade 7-8 unit on American Indian, European, Puerto Rican, Afro-American and American tales showing the students the common themes and the universal affirmation of man’s ability to accomplish great feats by using a great deal of brain power and some brawn.
Expanding Fifth Grade Ethnic Awareness Through Literature
A unit on Native American and Latino literature from the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute.
American Girls Through Time and Trial
An elementary unit focusing on women of different cultures, races, and religions. It includes three books featuring diverse American women from specific time periods.
Power vs. Powerlessness in American Literature
An 11th-grade unit featuring works by Angelou, Atwood, Plath, Steinbeck, and Tan.
Twentieth Century Latin American Writing
A collection of units for middle school and high school.
Crossing the Border: A Study of Immigration Through Literature
A unit for grades 6-8.
Anna Wendell Bontemps (1902-1973) Teacher Resource File
Lesson plans on African American poetry and Bontemps' poems.
Native American Poetry CyberGuide
Internet-based activities for 8th-grade.
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Multicultural Art Activities
Collage and Romare Bearden
An elementary art lesson plan on the work of African American artist Romare Bearden.
Religious Beliefs Made Visual: Geometry and Islam
Classroom activities designed to show how Islamic art can provide important insights into the technology, scientific knowledge, and religious beliefs of Moslems.
Islamic Foil Art
This art activity, which is appropriate for many grade levels, may be just what you need for your multidisciplinary unit on Islam.
Japan: Images of People
A unit designed to help students understand Japanese painting and culture.
An Introduction to Mexican Art and Culture Through the "Day of the Dead"
An art activity based on this Mexican holiday celebrated October 31 through November 2.
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Multicultural Music Lessons and Resources
Teaching About Tolerance Through Music
Invite students to analyze the lyrics of Peter, Paul and Mary songs that express themes of tolerance. (Grades 3-12)
Cultural Comparisons Through Teenage Music
A lesson in which students compare various cultural beliefs, values, and traditions by studying the lyrics of popular music from a variety of genres.
Ellington, Music, and Color
Five middle grade lesson plans
African Clave Rhythms and Popular Music
a lesson plan for grades 7-8
summer teacher institute { sti lesson plans } teacher workshop | other resources | in-services
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Seventy-plus music lesson plans, many of which have multicultural elements. directly to the lessons by clicking on the link Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
These resources are intended to stimulate student interest and creativity, to develop higher order thinking skills and to promote interdisciplinary learning. Please be aware, that some material contained in these lessons may be considered controversial or inappropriate by some students, educators, admininistrators and parents; it is the responsibility of individual educators to determine whether any particular lesson conforms to the accepted standards of his or her particular school and community.
In addition, educators will note that lessons do not contain printed lyrics to the suggested music. For legal reasons, the Education Department is unable to distribute lyrics and music over the internet. Educators can obtain lyrics through a variety of sources including several authorized web sites, books (see further reading list), songbooks (at music stores or at the library) and the actual liner notes to CDs, tapes and albums.
Lesson 1: Keep on Pushing: Popular Music and the Civil Rights Movement
Lesson 2: Langston Hughes and the Blues
Lesson 3: Life Under Apartheid
Lesson 19: Rhythmic, Lyrical Protests of the African American
Lesson 22: Mending Walls: Barriers in Communications
Lesson 29: Runaway Slaves
Lesson 38: Looking for a Whole Lot of R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Lesson 39: Society's Child: A Look at Human Relations Yesterday and Today
Lesson 43: Individuality Vs. Social Responsibility: From Camus to the Cure
Lesson 53: "And Still I Rise" Proud Black Women: Understanding the poetry of Maya Angelou through the lyrics of two female rappers.
Lesson 73: GET UP, STAND UP: Fighting for Rights Around the World
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Multicultural Math Activities
Frisbie's Multicultural Math Fair
From Frisbie Middle School, this site provides information about this event as well as specific information about each learning station. Click on Multicultural Fair 1999-2000 for descriptions of additional activities.
Marlys Henke's Cultural Relevance Model
Seven lesson plans developed by Marlys Henke, an award-winning math teacher from St. Paul, that incorporate the contributions of diverse cultures and people into the regular math curriculum.
Multicultural Math Lessons
Five lesson plans created by Patricia Donovan.
Religious Beliefs Made Visual: Geometry and Islam
Classroom activities designed to help students understand that the geometric patterns that characterize so much of Islamic art provide important insights into the technology, scientific knowledge, and religious beliefs of Moslems.
The Greatest Black Mathematicians
Profiles of 400 Great Black Mathematicians
Black Women in Mathematics
A Modern History of Blacks in Mathematics
Play Mancala
An African math game. See also Mancala for another online version of this game.
Ancient Egyptian Mathematics
An activity dealing with the calculation of pi.
Egyptian Numerals
Scroll down the page to try out some Egyptian math problems. For more information, see Egyptian Fractions,An Odd Egyptian Puzzle, and Hypatia of Alexandria.
Native American Geometry
Information and resources for teachers.
Symmetry and Pattern: The Art of Oriental Carpets
Information and instructional activities.
Maya Mathematics
Information on the Mayan number system.
Scientists Treasure Hunt
A grade 7-12 activity
This is only one section of a website that provides access to multicultural lesson plans about Math and Science. It covers K-12, but specifies the grade level for the lesson. It is easy to pick and choose from this site.
The Abacus
An award-winning site with history, instructions for using an abacus, etc.
Symmetry and Pattern: The Art of Oriental Carpets
Information, a gallery, and instructional activities. Click on Educational Resources to find the activities.
Multicultural Math Games
A page created two 9th-graders.
Biographies of Women Mathematicians
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Multicultural Science Lessons and Resources
Alaska Native Knowledge Network
Science units based on native ways of knowing. See their new Handbook for Culturally Responsive Science Curriculum.
Eggs
An elementary lesson plan about how different cultures use eggs through the integration of art, math, science, and social studies.
Using Multicultural Literature with Science
An Internet-based elementary lesson plan.
Myths, Legends, and Moon Phases
A multidisciplinary lesson plan for upper-elementary or middle school from New Horizons for Learning. It can be adapted for lower elementary grades.
Houses Around the World
An upper-elementary or middle school lesson plan in which students develop an understanding how climate influences the type of homes a person builds and the way a person dresses.
Women in Science
A high school lesson plan from Education World.
African American Scientists
An Internet-based lesson plan for grades 5-8. See also Faces of Science: African Americans in Science for information on hundreds of African American scientists as well as other information regarding African Americans and science..
4000 Years of Women in Science
Great site for information
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Multicultural Celebrations
An Introduction to Mexican Art and Culture Through the "Day of the Dead"
An art activity based on this Mexican holiday celebrated October 31 through November 2.
Multicultural Calendar
A calendar of holidays and events celebrated around the world.
Columbus Day: Native American Perspective
A lesson plan for 4th/5th grade.
"Hispanic Celebration" Lesson Plan
This is an interesting lesson with many links and resources.
Cinco de Mayo
Lesson plans, activities, and thematic units.
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Non-traditional Families
Gay and Lesbian Families Understanding Families with Gay and Lesbian Parents
A lesson plan for grades K-6.
The following are companion lessons for the book Cootie Shots, a book of plays, skits and poems that aims to "innoculate" children against bigotry. (Copy in Library on Professional shelf)
America Didn’t Crumble Grades K-6 Statements from Sol Kelley-Jones, a 10-year-old girl, made to the Wisconsin State Legislature about life with her two moms, comparing their rights as a family to those of slaves two-hundred years ago.
The Princess Petunia Grades K-6 A fairy tale about a princess who helps her father to see that everyone should be free to marry whomever he or she loves
That’s a Family! Grades K-5 Real photos and text from, “That’s A Family,” a documentary created by Debra Chasnoff and Helen Cohen. The project follows kids across America describing their diverse families.
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Women
American Girls Through Time and Trial
An elementary unit focusing on women of different cultures, races, and religions. It includes three books featuring diverse American women from specific time periods.
Black Women in Mathematics
Women in Science
A high school lesson plan from Education World.
Women in World History
Sample lessons on women's history
The Nineteenth Amendment
A lesson for Upper School students
Cultural Change
A high-quality lesson plan for grades 10-12 that requires students to think critically about the arguments and counter-arguments in the debate regarding women's suffrage.
Biographies of Women Mathematicians
WWWomen.com
Links to sites about women and women's issues.
4000 Years of Women in Science
Great site for information
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Civil Rights
Historic Places of the Civil Rights Movement
From the National Register of Historic Places, this page would be an excellent resource for putting together a WebQuest on the civil rights movement. 4th grade and up.
Tuskegee Tragedy
A WebQuest exploring this exploring this dark medical experiment and its victims. 4th grade and up.
Little Rock 9
A collaborative webquest on integration in schools.4th grade and up.
Jackie Robinson, Civil Rights Advocate
Information, documents, and lesson plans about Jackie Robinson's role in the Civil Rights movement. Scroll down the page for the lesson plans. 4th grade and up.
Opening Doors to Social Studies with Children's Literature: Take Seat or Get off the Bus
A unit for 5th-grade using the book Mississippi Bridge by Mildred D. Taylor.May be adapted for 4th grade.
Martin Luther King 's "I Have a Dream Speech."
No lesson on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is complete without reference to this speech from August 28, 1963. The above site offers a transcription as well as an audio file. See also the Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project for other speeches, sermons, papers, and articles.
Mini Unit for MLK Day
for 3rd, 4th or 5th grade
Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
A mini-unit for grades 4-5.
Timeline of selected event in the Civil rights movement
Gay and Lesbian Characgtres and Themes in Children's Books
An annotated Bibliography
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African Amercians
After Reconstruction: Problems of African Americans in the South
A lesson plan using the Internet to access pamphlets and other materials, most of which were written by African American authors about pressing issues of the day.
From Jim Crow to Linda Brown
A retrospective of the African American experience from the late 1800's to the mid 1950's
Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois
A unit on the issues raised by the celebrated debate between two famous African American leaders: Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois.
Have Minorities Gained Acceptance?
A lesson plan in which students research and discuss the impact of the Civil Rights Movement.
Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky
A TeacherView with suggested activities and a review.
A Teacher's Guide to Afro-American Children's Literature and History
From the Children's Literature Nook, this site offers an annotated bibliography of African-American children's books, criteria for selecting books for classroom use, lesson ideas, and many links.
Meet Rosa Parks
An on-line interview as well as lesson plans and resources.
Opening Doors to Social Studies with Children's Literature: Take a Seat or Get off the Bus
A unit for 5th-grade using the book Mississippi Bridge by Mildred D. Taylor.
Similarities Between African Folktales and French Folktales
A unit for grades 7-12.
Heroes and Heroines in the Family
A grade 7-8 unit on American Indian, European, Puerto Rican, Afro-American and American tales showing the students the common themes and the universal affirmation of man’s ability to accomplish great feats by using a great deal of brain power and some brawn.
Anna Wendell Bontemps (1902-1973) Teacher Resource File
Lesson plans on African American poetry and Bontemps' poems.
The Greatest Black Mathematicians
Profiles of 400 Great Black Mathematicians
Black Women in Mathematics
A Modern History of Blacks in Mathematics
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Hispanics
Understanding Hispanic/Latino Culture and History Through Children’s Literature
An elaborate unit plan with three sample lesson plans and a bibliography.
Puerto Rican Folktales
A unit for grades 7-12.
La Casa en Mango Street (Sandra Cisneros)
A Score CyberGuide en Espanol! See also Click here to access a Teacher's Resource File with other lesson plans for this author.
Heroes and Heroines in the Family
A grade 7-8 unit on American Indian, European, Puerto Rican, Afro-American and American tales showing the students the common themes and the universal affirmation of man’s ability to accomplish great feats by using a great deal of brain power and some brawn.
Expanding Fifth Grade Ethnic Awareness Through Literature
A unit on Native American and Latino literature from the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute.
Twentieth Century Latin American Writing
A collection of units for middle school and high school.
"Hispanic Celebration" Lesson Plan
This is an interesting lesson with many links and resources.
Cinco de Mayo
Lesson plans, activities, and thematic units.
Delores Huerta
A mini-unit for the intermediate grades on this Mexian-American labor activist. See also Lessons on Delores Huerta
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Asians
Moving Words: Asian Immigration
Four lesson plans on Asian-American immigration. Also, take a look at Teaching the Chinese Immigrant's Story - Angel Island (1910-1940), another unit on Chinese-American immigration.
Discussing Immigration Through Literature
A unit on Asian-American immigrants using the following books: Coming to America, Betsy Maestro;The Lotus Seed, Sherry Garland; and Grandfather's Journey, Allen Say.
Teaching With Asian Children's Literature
A thematic unit for K-6.
An Integrated Unit on Classic Philippine Folk Tales About Fruits
A unit from TASSI.
An Integrated Unit on Friendship Implementing Asian-American Children's Literature
A unit integrating Asian-American children's literature and the theme of friendship.
Women in Traditional China and their Portrayal in Chinese Folktales
A unit for grades 10-12.
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Immigration
Immigration: Coming to America
An online activity complete with a teacher's guide.
Diversity and Ellis Island
Thematic unit introducing the concept of immigration and citizenship by first exploring the diversity of people for primary grades. Good list of Ellis Island web sites, books and videos. Useful activities such as how to set up a pen-pal exchange.
The Immigrant Experience in America
A lesson plan for grades 5-8.
Immigration Curriculum Resource Site
Lesson plans for a variety of grade levels from the American Immigration Law Foundation.
Hispanic Immigration: America in the Year 2000
A high school unit that can be adapted for middle school.
Ellis Island
A unit and electronic field trip for intermediate, middle, or high school students.
German Immigrants: Their Contributions to the Upper Midwest
A lesson plan in which students answer questions and practice their German while viewing photographs and documents from the American Memory of the Library of Congress.
Where I Come From
A high-quality 5th-grade lesson plan.
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Homelessness and Refugees
Online Human Rights Lesson Plans
Middle School and High School lesson plans regarding human rights
Forget Me Not lesson ideas and the Homeless Education Learning Page for personal stories, expressions, history, causes, and solutions.
Maniac Magee
Poverty, Food in the United States
A middle school lesson plan from Catholic Relief Services. Go to their lesson plans index for similar elementary and high school lesson plans. See also Food In the United States.
Through the Eyes of Refugee
A high school lesson plan, but can be adapted for middle school grades.
America, Refugees, and Asylum
A lesson plan using the PBS program Well-Founded Fear .
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Native Americans
Heroes and Heroines in the Family
A grade 7-8 unit on American Indian, European, Puerto Rican, Afro-American and American tales showing the students the common themes and the universal affirmation of man’s ability to accomplish great feats by using a great deal of brain power and some brawn.
Expanding Fifth Grade Ethnic Awareness Through Literature
A unit on Native American and Latino literature from the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute.
Native American Poetry CyberGuide
Internet-based activities for 8th-grade.
Columbus Day: Native American Perspective
A lesson plan for 4th/5th grade.
Exploring Native Americans Across the Curriculum
Information and ideas for activities from Education World.
Revisiting Pocahontas
A middle-grade or high school unit in which students engage in a critique of the historical and cultural accuracy of the Walt Disney film, "Pocahontas."
Negotiating Treaties
An 11th-grade lesson plan involving a treaty negotiation simulation.
Indian Boarding Schools: Civilizing the Native Spirit
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Jewish Americans
Teaching Tolerance: The People's Attorney
A lesson plan for grades 4-6 investigating the life of Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish-American appointed to the Supreme Court.
New Years Around the World
Scroll through the lesson plans in this elementary unit to find the Lesson Plan Days 5 and 6: The Jewish New Year.
Blue Monday and Friends: Traditional Jewish Holidays Come Alive Through The Art of Story-Telling
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Arab Culture and Society
A Moroccan Fairy Tale vs. European Folk/Fairy Tale
An elementary-grade lesson plan.
American Arab Anti Discrimination Committee (ADC.org)
provides suggestions for Arab-Americans who are speaking to K-12 students/classrooms. Many of the ideas and much of the information could be adapted to an introductory lesson plan on Arab culture. See also
100 Questions and Answers about Arab Americans for an excellent resource from the Detroit Free Press .
The Arab Culture in Review: A Global Perspective
An Internet-based project in which students assume various roles within and related to the Arab culture. It consists of five activities and an assessment.
Arab American Heritage Month
Links to many resource sites and a few lesson plans.
Islam Webquest
A well-designed Internet-based lesson.
Religious Beliefs Made Visual: Geometry and Islam
Classroom activities designed to show how Islamic art can provide important insights into the technology, scientific knowledge, and religious beliefs of Moslems. For further information about Islam, see Infoplease: Islam.
The Growth of Islam
A SCORE Cyberguide providing a 7th-grade Internet-based activity.
Islamic Scientific Contributions to Civilization another 7th-grade activity.
Islam 101 Online Course
An online course complete with tests. Click here for the Islam 101 main page.
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Socia
Incorporating the Japanese Perspective Into a U.S. History Unit on World War II
A 10-day high school unit complete with extension activities and an assessment.
Citizenship Denied: An Integrated Unit on the Japanese-American Internment
An elaborate unit suitable for middle-grade or high school students. See also A History of the Japanese-American Internment.
Cross Cultural Perceptions in Historical Context: Japanese and American
A high school unit.
Experiences in African American - Japanese Relationships
A high school unit designed to develop awareness of race issues in Japan, particularly race issues pertaining to the African American experience.
Lifestyles of the Young and the Restless: A Comparison of Life in Japan and the United State
Another high school unit.
l Studies
Incorporating the Japanese Perspective Into a U.S. History Unit on World War II
A 10-day high school unit complete with extension activities and an assessment.
Citizenship Denied: An Integrated Unit on the Japanese-American Internment
An elaborate unit suitable for middle-grade or high school students. See also A History of the Japanese-American Internment.
Cross Cultural Perceptions in Historical Context: Japanese and American
A high school unit.
Experiences in African American - Japanese Relationships
A high school unit designed to develop awareness of race issues in Japan, particularly race issues pertaining to the African American experience.
Lifestyles of the Young and the Restless: A Comparison of Life in Japan and the United States
Another high school unit.
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