(Put the link in here) When I First Came to America

Standard 1 objective 2

Celebrating cultural diversity:

Instructional Procedures

Read When I First Came to America or another book about coming to America.
Ask the students if they were moving far away what important items would they want to take with them so they could "do the best they could" in their new surroundings but still remember their original way of life. Give each student one to three Post-it Notes and ask them to write one answer on each sheet.
Have students share their items. On the board help the children sort the Post-it Notes into like categories. Help students name and title each category (e.g. toys/games, family, clothes, pets).
Ask students if there are other things they might bring with them but wouldn't necessarily need to pack in a bag (e.g. traditions, languages, celebrations, stories, physical features). Add new suggestions to the board.
Tell the children they are going to be packing their own culture trunk as they learn more about the cultural contributions found in their community.
Create the student trunk by gluing the Student Culture Trunk Cover to the front of a three prong folder. Put the Student Continent Culture Map inside of the folder.

Invite parents to take children to the grocery store and point out different food items from different cultures. Sample foods from other countries at home or in a restaurant.