WE ARE THE WORLD Multicultural Week Curriculum A Unified Approach

A Communal Focus Regardless of age or country, all classes will be seeking to develop a larger understanding of culture using similar guiding questions. We have 5 essential questions that will guide our learning and promote a “communal” focus to this week. Very specific “hooks” have been developed so that all children will do something that is the same each day to promote conversations among grade levels and families. Ie all students will listen to the same song on one day.

The Essential Questions Social Studies: Where is it and what is it like there? Biographies: What individuals have made influential contributions to this culture? Science: How do people and the environment interact? Language Arts: How does the literature of this country communicate its values? Arts: How do people share their customs and cultures with each other and the global community?

Why is Biographies Not a Subject Area? In lower school, this could be used as a catalyst for writing prompts. Biographies for each country spans people of interest in a variety of fields and expertise. For example, there are artists, scientists and more. In upper school, it is our hope that these will be integrated into other subject areas. Ie writing

But, I Only Teach Science Twice… This program is a skeleton and a list of resources. It’s not about teaching all the lessons – it’s about teaching lessons that answer the essential questions – your pathway is your choice. The website is a good “start” – we will teach you how to add items of your own expertise and experience so that it is multi-authored. You teach what you can in the time you have. In the end, all children will have a better understanding of their country and global citizenship.

Check Out The We Are The World Website This site was created specifically for this project. It is a wiki, meaning that EVERYONE who has a password can edit any page just like a word document. This means that you can add your own insights, lessons and resources. YOU ALL own this site and its content. We will provide some training to teachers.

What’s On The Site Now? Some possible lessons have been added to get you started. You could complete the entire project using these possible activities, use a few and add to them, or use none and meet the objectives using your own lessons. Fourth Grade’s section has suggested activities listed. All other grade levels will have suggested activities listed by December 27 th.