Second Graders Share Their Cultures

Second grade students put on a Cultural Learning Celebration last week with their families. Teachers Jackie Blake, Katherine Snape, and Danica Baylor shared their thoughts about the Culture Unit, which led to this culminating event.

Through our culture study, “Diversity Around the World,” students applied the lens of inclusivity while expanding their sense of self and awareness of our larger world, which is a big, diverse place filled with beauty and commonality. They learned that while our families come from many different countries, continents, and communities, we all hold and practice culture. How we spend our weekends and afternoons, how we celebrate holidays or lost teeth, what our weddings and birthdays look like—are all parts of our culture! Students learned the many ways in which culture is expressed:  through food, music, clothing, celebrations, language, traditions, dance, and more. Additionally, they had the opportunity to practice asking respectful and kind questions to learn about each other’s cultures. 

Second graders generated questions such as: 

• What do you like to do?
• Can you tell me more about this? 
• Is there a special tradition in your culture/family? 

Students chose an artifact to represent a part of their culture, created a poster with their families to have at their station, and designed a Celebration of Me poster, all of which was shared at the event.

“Through these curious questions and the beautiful sharing of artifacts, students and families celebrated what they have in common with each other but also that there is so much to learn from those around us,” said Baylor.