Many individuals realize that their cultural identities shape their personalities and the paths they choose in their careers and lives. In fact, culture can be understood as the collection of ethnic, national, and linguistic features, as well as one’s abilities, gender identity, geographic region, and religious beliefs (“Positive personal and cultural identity,” n.d.). Those who understand the value of all these elements in structuring their identities become more successful contributors to the societal good. Therefore, it is crucial to teach students in school the importance of their own cultural identities and explain the importance of intercultural cooperation.
Learning Goal
To help students understand how essential the interaction and connection between people are and show them that no one lives one’s own story in isolation.
Learning Objectives
Students should be able to describe cultural identity and appreciate their and other people’s identities. Furthermore, learners will be able to discuss the dangers of a single story and show the importance of cooperation between individuals.
Materials
The primary material that will be used in this course is the curriculum guidelines provided by the government of the province of British Columbia (BC).
Time Management
The cultural identity course for second graders will last for one semester with three hours of classes per week, spread across five days. This time should be sufficient for students to complete all course requirements and understand the six profiles provided in BC’s curriculum.
Methodology
The methods that will be used in teaching this course will include short, entertaining lectures, watching videos about cultural identities, in-class discussions, group tasks, individual assignments, and role plays. The first three profiles include self-awareness, identifying aspects of self, and describing one’s own identity (“Positive personal and cultural identity,” n.d.). Another set of profiles is being proud of one’s identity as part of a larger community, understanding the influence of external factors, and recognizing the evolving nature of identity (“Positive personal and cultural identity,” n.d.). These six profiles will guide the curriculum, helping learn each for two weeks using the abovementioned approaches.
Starting the Lesson
- The class watches the video about the importance of intercultural communication: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xerrjjAyZs8
- The class should discuss for 3-5 minutes what children in this video did and why it was important.
Main Part of the Lesson
- The teacher asks students to organize five small groups (the groups will be formed by random assignment before the class and will be displayed on the screen) for brainstorming ideas and further discussions. (1 minute)
- Each group should provide three characteristics of the cultures of the team members. One person from each team should come forward and write all the characteristics on the blackboard. (15 minutes)
- The teacher reads the passage from Villegas (2019):
“Multicultural education can have students realize that everyone might live in a different world but at the same time can be the same. This can also help student realize that their world can be greater than in the community that they live in. Difference is seen within an individual based on appearance, language, ability and other factors. Multicultural education can promote to perception the differences from each student, “while all societies value their children, their traditions differ and primary-grade students can view and appreciate these differences on their own consciousness level” (p. 5).
- Each group should be given 10 minutes to discuss what they understood from this text and prepare a 1-minute speech about the importance of multiculturalism.
- Five minutes in total for each group to present their ideas in front of their peers.
Ending the Lesson
Home task for students: The teacher asks students to draw a picture about how they view their own cultural identity and how they perceive their roles in intercultural cooperation.
Goal of this task: To help children explore their own and other people’s cultural identities. This task is visual; hence, it should be entertaining and engaging for students to commit to it. Additionally, children will likely perform an online search to have a better understanding of various cultures and do this task more accurately.
References
Positive personal and cultural identity. (n.d.). British Columbia. Web.
Villegas, A. (2019). Multicultural education implemented in elementary schools [Master’s thesis, California State University]. Digital Commons.