Lessons, Activities, and School Activities That Demonstrate Value In Diversity

1.Tapa Cloth – This activity is tied in together with our 1^st Quarter Social Studies Unit on Culture. Students were introduced about the Pacific Culture by showing them a powerpoint presentation about the different ways Tapa Cloth is being used and made. The students had an opportunity to create their own Tapa Cloth using brown paper, multi-cultural colored crayons, and India ink. The students were to choose at least 4 – 5 different symbols that represent their culture (ex: Chamorro – Latte Stones, Spears, etc.; Carolinian – Mwaar Mwaar; Filipino – Bahay Kubo) and draw it on the Tapa Cloth. Upon completion of the activity, their Tapa Cloth is displayed around the classroom and the students were able to view and ask questions about each others’ cultures. With this activity, the students were able to learn more about each culture and appreciate each others values and customs.

2.Culture Acrostic Poems – The students were put into groups to write acrostic poems using the letters C-U-L-T-U-R-E. The students had to compose words and sentences that are associated with their cultures and create a poster about their poem. (ex: C = customs; U = Understanding one another’s culture; L = Learning to Love a culture; T = Traditions; U – unconditional love in each family; R = respecting each other’s differences; E = ethnic groups)

3.Crayon Etching – This activity was used to represent different tools and objects that each culture uses (ex: Chamorros – spears, latte stones, sling stones, etc.) or include anything that helps their classmate understand their culture. The students were given a criteria to follow: 1. The product must have at least 5 different etchings from their culture. 2: The product must have their name written on the back.

4. Cultural Feast – As a culminating event for our 1^st quarter Social Studies Unit, the entire 5^th grade class was able to celebrate a cultural feast where the students brought in a dish from their culture. Before the feast, the students shared their recipes with their classmates. The students were able to try the food during the feast.

5. Native American Homes – Compare and Contrast: When students were creating their Native American region homes, they were asked during their presentations to compare and contrast their homes with the ones that they’ve built. This activity gave the students an awareness of how values are different between other cultures because they get to understand that homes are built according to the geographical aspect of a certain region.

6. STUCO Rally - the STUCO rally gave certain students, also known as potential “candidates,” an opportunity to run for Student Council. Candidates from the 3^rd – 6^th grade class rallied against each other in hopes of getting a seat for this year’s council. This year’s candidates were a very diverse group because it was composed of students from different grade-levels, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds. During the rally, the candidates had to give a 2-minute speech in front of the whole school. Some of them were very creative with their speeches. Instead of the traditional speech, the candidates also danced, cheered, involved their classmates on the stage, and sang a song. The 2 candidates that ran from my class are: Jenny Rose Habijan (P.I.O.) and Rosien Spis (Vice President).