Several teachers and I have discussed how great it would be to have a multicultural day at our school and want to pitch the idea to the principal. So I need your help! :help: I would really like for you guys to pitch in any ideas, suggestions, and comments - especially those of you who have participated in this sort of event. :thanks: in advance.
Speaking of multicultural... Chick Fil-A has books about schools in other countries in their kid meals right now. Emily got one about schools in Europe.
I talked with a teacher who had one. They presented food from several countries. They had local restaurants donate the food (I thought that saved a lot of teacher work.).
We have a multicultural night where classes present about different parts of the world. The school is divided into pods and each pod was assigned a region. I am in the pod assigned to Africa. My students are presented PowerPoints based on their research. Other classes are presenting artwork, food, dances, and interactive lessons. The teachers are responsible for determining what their students will present. In our pod we have created a butcher paper Nile River, an African savannah, an African rainforest, the Sahara Desert, Egyptian pyramids and landmarks, a large map of Africa with all the countries listed, a comparison display that shows the size of Africa in comparison to other countries, etc. Apparently it is an annual thing here at this school. Since I am new to the school this will be my first time participating. It is scheduled for the last week of school in August.
My school is a K-8, so our fair is put on by the 8th graders as a way to help pay for their Wash DC trip. Each group of 8th graders (about 8-10 in each group) choose a country to research. They are in charge of their own booths - decorating, making informational posters, demonstrating games, crafts, or songs. This year there were 10 booths. They charge $1 for a "passport" and the participants can go to all the booths. Elementary teachers encourage going by offering an incentive for having the passports stamped. There's also a bake sale (again to raise money for the trip).
When I taught fifth grade, I had my students bring in a dish that represented their culture. It was wonderful and yummy!!
We had one when I was in middle school. Kids got into pairs and chose a country. No one ever did the same country. Most of us made some kind of poster with basic facts, had a food dish, wore clothing that that particular region wears usually, and some did more interactive things like dancing. We all enjoyed it!
We did something very similar to misteacher; we held a Diversity Night in May. Each hallway was assigned a different continent, and each class researched and presented a different country. The countries assigned were countries of origin of families in our school community. In addition to the class displays, we had parents and community members doing henna tatoos, musical and dance performances and cooking demonstrations. We displayed a huge world map in the front ofyer and invted families to mark "Where in the World" they are from. The evening was a huge success!
We do one at my school. Parents from grades 1 and 2 are invited to plan activities and displays on countries of their choice. Teachers coordinate getting the parents who volunteer in contact with each other. For example, many parents might respond that they'd like to do a center on Italy- we type up a list of all those parent names with contact info and send to all the 'Italy' parents so they can plan together. The parents do pretty much everything as far as the centers go- they brng their own materials, supplies, etc. This year we had a new nutrition policy so the food was somewhat limited compared to past years, but center activities included: dance, crafts, having one's name written in different language, games...Teachers create a 'map' to show where the different centers are located throughout the school (1st and 2nd grade classrooms and hallways), make 'passports' for the kids (center volunteers are given stickers to put on passports), and generally 'manage' the flow of kids from center to center. The centers run for about 2- 2 1/2 hours. Really fun and educational. Nice way to get parents in, celebrate diversity, learn from each other.
Our school has a program in May we call "World Fest" - each grade level is responsible for setting up a booth with things the kids made representing that country and a sampling of food from that country. The classes visit the booths during the day with their "passports". Then in the evening each grade level does a typical dance from that region. The kids love it because it's the only program we can have all students participate in.
We did multi-cultural month at my last school. It was in Feb. and my principal who was African-American thought it was better to showcase different cultures during the month. We did a week on each different culture(Native Americans, Hispanic/Latino Culture, Asian Cultures, and African-American). That might be a lot to take on (or to get your principal to agree to), but what about Multi-cultural Week and spotlight a different culture each day. I think you have a fabulous idea going here!!!! I hope your principal is smart and lets you do it.
Each class (or grade level) at my school signs up for a country. Depending on your level, the projects can be as simple or complicated as you wish. Our Kindergarten level always takes Mexico. We have the children make flags, maps, tissue paper flowers, etc. and put out different items representing the culture. The upper grade levels do much more and have children stationed at each country to tell all about it and show pictures, powerpoints, maps, clothing-whatever. We are assigned a time to take a trip around the world and take our classes to visit each country. One year, we also had passports for each child, but that became too complicated. It is very enjoyable.
We started off with a Multicultural diversity night. We relied heavily on parents in the community. They has a display table to show off their country. We really tried to make sure a lot of countries were represented. They showcased food, art, music, and dress. We also had cultural dance like, belly, hindi, and irish.
