Most students in America know all about how we celebrate holidays here. They have family traditions that they have been doing since they were born. They know that in December many people celebrate Christmas where we put gifts under a beautiful tree. Soon after that we have our New Year’s celebrations where we come together to countdown to midnight on the first day of the new year.
We know that it is great for our students to understand our own holidays and traditions and why we do them. And while that is important, it is also good for us to teach about other cultures around the world. Students can build cultural awareness and acceptance by learning more about how other countries and cultures celebrate during their own holidays.
Ways to teach about other cultures
One way I do this is by teaching my students about Chinese New Year. Also referred to as the Spring Festival, it is one of the most important holidays in China. It is celebrated for 7 days with a great festival. It takes place at the beginning of the Chinese lunar calendar, usually sometime in January or February.
It is celebrated with red lanterns, family dinners, fireworks, parades, and the gifting of red envelopes. These contain lucky money for the kids to bring them good fortune.
I created some STEM activities for my students to learn about these traditions in a fun and engaging way with my Chinese New Year STEM Resource.
It includes a research guide so that your students can do their research to learn more about the holiday. There is also a design a chinese lantern STEM challenge as well as a design a dragon STEM challenge. This is a digital resource which means it would be the perfect addition to your distance learning lessons this year.
For more holiday STEM challenges, check out my post here!
Another way you can teach about other cultures is by using my STEM World Landmarks Activities and Celebrations Bundle.
With this resource, you can teach your students about different landmarks around the world like Stonehenge, The Great Pyramids, The Eiffel Tower, and more. You’ll get 13 different famous landmarks or celebrations to research and design structures resembling the landmark or the event.
What ways do you like to teach different cultures? Let me know in the comments?
