culture assignments high school

7 Fun Cultural Diversity Activities For High School Classroom

High schoolers are on the brink of adulthood and navigating a rapidly changing world. But amidst all the changes, one thing remains constant – the diversity of cultures that make up our communities. 

From food and music to language and traditions, cultural diversity enriches lives and shapes perspectives. So, it’s important to embrace it, learn from it, and celebrate it. After all, a world where everyone is the same is a boring world. It’s time to embrace the differences and come together as one colorful and diverse community!” Below are some unique activities that foster cultural diversity in the classroom arena, so keep reading!

Celebrating cultural diversity in the classroom with interactive activities

Notice how everyone in the school sometime or the other gets something in their lunch that reflects their culture and roots? Similarly, many activities and games can help kids understand cultural diversification in their classes. Some of these that can be held in class are:

1. Cultural Storytelling

Cultural Storytelling is a captivating medium for high school students to delve into the diverse tapestry of cultures and discover the richness and individuality of their peers. This enlightening activity creates a dynamic stage for students to share their cultural heritage and personal tales, painting a vivid picture of their unique backgrounds and experiences. Students can be divided into groups and assigned a different culture or nationality. 

Whether it be through lively oral accounts, written narratives, or even visual presentations, students are given the chance to showcase the beauty and depth of their culture. Cultural Storytelling not only promotes a deeper understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity, but it also fosters a spirit of empathy, respect, and inclusiveness in the classroom. Join in on the Cultural Storytelling journey and allow the diverse voices and stories of your classmates to enlighten and inspire you.

  2. Cultural Mystery Box

Uncover the mysteries of cultural diversity as open the contents of mysterious boxes filled with cultural treasures.” The Cultural Mystery Box activity is a fun and interactive way for high school students to learn about and appreciate cultural diversity. In this activity, each student is asked to bring in or create a mystery box filled with items that represent their cultural background. 

The boxes can include items such as traditional clothing, symbols, artifacts, or food. The class is then tasked with guessing which culture each box represents based on the items inside. This activity allows students to gain a deeper understanding of each other’s cultural heritage and to learn about different customs, traditions, and values. It also promotes a sense of inclusiveness and respect for cultural diversity. This activity is a great way to foster a positive classroom environment and encourage students to celebrate their unique backgrounds and identities.

3. Cultural Treasure Hunt

The Cultural Treasure Hunt is an adventurous and enlightening excursion for high school students to delve into the diverse tapestry of cultures. Divided into dynamic teams, students embark on a captivating quest to unearth and discover various cultural riches. 

Each hidden gem could showcase a unique aspect of a culture, such as its traditional attire, symbolic artifacts, or tasty cuisine. They can be allowed to take photos of each item and present them to the class, explaining the significance of each item to their assigned culture. Through this thrilling pursuit, students broaden their cultural horizons, gain a deeper understanding of their peers’ heritage, and foster a spirit of inclusiveness and respect for diversity. The Cultural Treasure Hunt is a dynamic and enjoyable way to enrich the classroom environment and celebrate the individuality and richness of every student’s background and identity.

4. Cultural Food and Cooking

Cultural Food and Cooking is a delicious and informative way for high school students to learn about and appreciate cultural diversity. This activity involves students preparing and sharing traditional dishes from their cultural backgrounds. Whether it be through cooking together as a class or showcasing dishes brought from home, this activity offers a taste of different cultures and cuisines. However, students have to explain the dish to the class, discussing its history, ingredients, and cultural significance.

It provides students with the opportunity to learn about cooking techniques, ingredients, and customs related to food in different cultures. This activity also encourages students to engage with one another and to share their cultural knowledge and experiences. Cultural Food and Cooking is a fun and delicious way to promote a positive classroom environment and celebrate the richness and diversity of the student body.

5. Cultural Costume Day

Cultural Costume Day is a vibrant and exciting way for high school students to learn about and appreciate cultural diversity. This activity involves students dressing up in traditional attire from their cultural background and showcasing it in front of the class. This is a great opportunity for students to express their cultural identity and share the significance and symbolism of their attire with their peers.

During Cultural Costume Day, students have the chance to learn about and appreciate different traditional clothing styles, customs, and beliefs from various cultures. This activity promotes a sense of inclusiveness and respect for cultural diversity and encourages students to celebrate their unique backgrounds and identities. Cultural Costume Day is a fun and engaging way to enhance the cultural education and appreciation of the student body.

6. Cultural Film and Literature Analysis

Cultural Film and Literature are a captivating and enlightening way for high school students to learn about and appreciate cultural diversity. This activity involves students exploring cultural representations in film, books, and other forms of media. By watching and reading works that highlight different cultures, students gain a deeper understanding of the values, beliefs, and customs of different communities. They have the opportunity to learn about cultural traditions and experiences that may be different from their own, promoting empathy, respect, and inclusiveness in the classroom. 

Cultural Film and Literature are powerful tools for students to expand their cultural horizons and celebrate the richness and diversity of the student body. Whether it be through viewing a film that showcases a traditional celebration, reading a novel that highlights a cultural struggle, or discussing a comic that reflects a unique cultural perspective, Cultural Film and Literature provide students with a dynamic and enjoyable way to engage with cultural diversity.

7. Cultural Collage

In this activity, high school students can create a visual representation of their cultural heritage by making a collage. Each student is asked to bring in photos, symbols, and items that are significant to their culture and to arrange them into a collage. This can include pictures of family members, traditional clothing, cultural artifacts, food, or anything else that represents their cultural background. 

Students can present their collages to the class, sharing the meaning and significance of each item and how it represents their culture. By creating and showcasing their own cultural collage, students are given the opportunity to express their cultural identity and to learn about and appreciate the diverse cultural backgrounds of their peers. As this activity promotes inclusiveness, respect, and understanding of cultural diversity, students creating the most creative and unique collage can be allowed to pin their creativity on the green board. 

What is a good example of cultural diversity?

Imagine a street performer playing a traditional Indian sitar, surrounded by people of different ethnicities, all swaying to the rhythm. A food truck with a fusion of Korean and Mexican cuisine, serving tacos with kimchi, draws a diverse crowd of food lovers. On the sidewalk, you see a group of people practicing a traditional African dance, while others join in, blending their own cultural dance styles. This bustling city is a vibrant display of cultural diversity, where the eclectic mix of cultures creates a rich tapestry of experiences and perspectives. It is a great example of cultural diversity where people from all walks of life, with different backgrounds, beliefs, and customs, come together to create a melting pot of unique cultures.

Cultural diversity is a treasure trove of knowledge, experiences, and perspectives that enriches our lives. High schoolers have the opportunity to shape the future by embracing and celebrating diversity. By learning about different cultures, they can not only gain a deeper understanding of the world, but also develop a sense of empathy, respect, and tolerance for others. So, by continuing to embrace cultural diversity, one can make the world a more colorful, inclusive, and harmonious place.

Having a 10+ years of experience in teaching little budding learners, I am now working as a soft skills and IELTS trainers. Having spent my share of time with high schoolers, I understand their fears about the future. At the same time, my experience has helped me foster plenty of strategies that can make their 4 years of high school blissful. Furthermore, I have worked intensely on helping these young adults bloom into successful adults by training them for their dream colleges. Through my blogs, I intend to help parents, educators and students in making these years joyful and prosperous.

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Culture Project Ideas for High School

by Gordana S | Nov 18, 2020 | School Innovation | 0 comments

Table of Contents

Culture Project Ideas for High School and How To Execute Them

You could be teaching a multicultural class, or maybe your students share the same cultural identity. Either way, you need to raise their awareness of the many different cultures on our planet. They have to know that cultures shape the behaviors and mentalities of the people who belong in them. Only then can your students be prepared to go out into the world and interact with it both in their personal and professional lives.

Credit: radovan

What Is Culture Teaching in High Schools?

Traditionally, teaching students about culture was reserved for certain chunks of foreign language classes. Even then, high schoolers would not get far beyond learning what constitutes only the target language’s visible culture, i.e., what people of that nation eat, how they dress, or what films and music they make. Today, the need to incorporate cultural studies into the schools’ curriculum is stronger than ever.

The biggest reason for it is that the students of a particular class belong to various cultures. It’s not only important to acknowledge that diversity between yourself as a teacher and the young people you teach, but also among the students themselves.

The way you can teach culture to your students varies. Before you get into it and start thinking of classroom activities and high school culture project ideas, you need to be the one who is culturally competent so that your students can learn from the example you set.

Before a High School Culture Project…

Credit: Martin Balle

When scholars attempt to describe or define culture, they usually employ a metaphor of an iceberg. Only a small part of an iceberg is what peeks above water, just like the dress, cuisine, or language are only outward symbols of a person’s culture. The essence of their cultural identity is—much like the bulk of an iceberg—hidden beneath the surface.

You need to understand how cultures shape people if you want to build on diversity in your classroom.

To this end, you might want to examine the following notions:

• What the extent to which one culture shapes an individual is
• Whether you possess social and emotional intelligence skills to recognize it in your students
• Cultural stereotypes you might not be aware you’re harboring

…Get To Know Your Students’ Cultures

Before you can teach your students how to differentiate among many cultures and how they impact people, you need to see those impacts in your students. This particularly holds true if you’re teaching a multicultural class—which in our day and age, you most likely do.

You can start by exploring how the culture of every one of your students determines their values, study motivation, and learning styles.

For example, if some of your students come from a culture that values unobtrusiveness and respect for authority, they might be less willing to raise their hands in your class or ask questions about the topics you’re teaching. It doesn’t mean that they are inapt learners or don’t approach the subject material with a critical mindset . It may be challenging for them to accommodate their behavior according to your cultural practices.

…Hone Your Social and Emotional Intelligence Skills

To recognize specific behaviors in your students and their potential effects, you should work on developing your social and emotional intelligence skills . They are essential tools for any professional to have but are particularly critical for educators.

Since social intelligence and emotional intelligence have many similar characteristics, they are often confused one for another. Here’s a table that shows differences between the two concepts:

Working on improving your social and emotional intelligence skills can be connected to having better cultural competence in your classroom.

… Recognize the Stereotypes Associated With Different Cultures

When you master social and emotional intelligence skills, you can reinforce interpersonal relationships among your students. This means you can also recognize whether you’re harboring any cultural stereotypes deep within your subconscious—something you need to get rid of for both your and your students’ sake.

Stereotypes are tricky because you aren’t always aware you’re perpetuating them. A research article— You’re Asian, how could you fail math? —points out how easy it is even for teachers to look at their students through culturally stereotypical lenses. In this particular case, just because it is believed Asian Americans are naturally gifted learners, the study affirms that that is not always the case. Teachers shouldn’t assume otherwise if they want to look at their students as individuals who might represent the culture they come from but aren’t defined by it.

To be a more culturally responsive teacher, you can test yourself for any undetected biases you might be holding onto. Only then can you teach your students about the complexities of different cultures.

Strategies for Being a More Culturally Competent Teacher

When you assess your knowledge and understanding of cultural diversity and its effects on interpersonal relationships, you can nurture that diversity in your school or classroom.

There are many starting-point ideas you should put into practice, such as:

• Developing trust between you and your students
• Getting to know your students’ cultural backgrounds
• Making different languages visible in your classroom

Student-Teacher Rapport

Establishing close rapport between you and your students is the first task you have as a teacher—and you should never cease working on it. Especially in a culturally diverse class, your students need to rely on and look up to you. This will do much in terms of their sense of belonging. If you learn about your students’ personal lives—their family, their friends, their hobbies—that will win you extra points as a teacher.

Another way to develop trust and boost your students’ study motivation is to include them in the curriculum. Pass some authority to them to decide what they want to do in the next class or practice peer-assessment activities.

Cultural Identities in Your Class 

Developing a strong rapport with your students involves encouraging them to share stories of the places they come from. You can set an essay homework assignment so that each student can give an overview of their culture, their experience within it, and their feelings about some of the most common stereotypes about it. This type of first-hand rapport will not only deconstruct prevalent biases, but it will also make your students use and express their voice and practice their writing skills .

Multilingual Classroom

An unavoidable aspect of having a culturally responsive school is including multiple languages in it. Not only should you have multilingual welcome and good-day signs hung on the walls of your classroom, but you can also inspire your multicultural students to look up the subject material you’re teaching written in their native languages.

The Benefits of a Culturally Diverse Curriculum

The last point to consider before you delve into the planning and executing of your culture project ideas is the reason why it’s so important for your students to develop cultural competence.

A culturally diverse curriculum has positive effects on your students because it:

• Helps their personal growth and satisfaction
• Prepares them for the future of work
• Expands their interests

Teaching Culture Stimulates Students’ Personal Growth 

When you make sure that all your students are seen and heard, you create an environment where they feel safe . They can participate, make mistakes, explore their interests, and challenge their own viewpoints and those of other people —all critical aspects for their personal growth and satisfaction. Building on that satisfaction makes your students more open to the world in general, which is a trait necessary in any individual who wishes to succeed in today’s world.

Even if you teach people of one culture, opening their minds to how people of different backgrounds think and behave will, in turn, make them more competent to interact with the world.

Teaching Cultures Prepares Your Students for Professional Lives

Cultural diversity in the workspace has never been more present than it is today. Teaching students that their individual stories and the cultures they come from matter also prepares them for their professional growth. 

In a work culture that is constantly changing, your students will surely struggle to choose a career in the first place. By building on a culturally diverse curriculum, you do not only foster student leadership in your classroom, but you also help your students grow into adults who make decisions easily and can relate to and communicate with their future co-workers, regardless of the language gap or ethnic differences.

Teaching Cultures Expands Your Students’ Worldviews

Traveling the world is the fastest way a young individual can broaden their horizons—this can also be true with bringing the world and all its varied cultures into your classroom.

When your students have the opportunity to find out and explore how different parts of the world function, their worldview is bound to expand. Learning about cultural diversity will result in students who are more competent, open-minded, and compassionate individuals. After they leave high school to carve the paths to their futures, they need to be ready to express themselves and bring about positive changes to the world.

Culture Projects for High School Students—Putting It All Into Action

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The practical steps you can take to incorporate cultural diversity into your classes are numerous. Here are some ideas:

• Create a multicultural calendar
• Have your students write personal essays or journal entries
• Print out and examine the pictures of world banknotes
• Teach cultural diversity through fairy tales
• Explore cultural awareness in the media

Set a Date for Holidays

Holidays are an unavoidable part of teaching cultures. Besides merely focusing on the most popular holidays around the world, you can take your class a step further. Have a project in which you and your students mark a calendar for when these holidays are celebrated.

You can start by letting your multicultural students tag the holidays from their nations, but if you see that the calendar looks too empty, give them homework to research on the national holidays of other cultures around the world and include them in the next class.

Here are some fun holidays celebrated all over the world:

A Day in My Life

A great way you can introduce your students to the world’s cultures is by having them write an essay on their own or the cultures of the people around them. To make it more interesting and engaging, you can have them write a made-up journal entry as someone belonging to a particular culture.  

This will make your students practice a writing strategy they might not be using in their homework often. At the same time, it will make them research how people of different cultures spend their ordinary days and put themselves into their shoes—at least figuratively.

Who’s on Your Banknote?

If you think printing out pictures of different banknotes around the world isn’t cost-effective or environmentally conscious, you can make a presentation of these banknote images. Besides having your students learn about world currencies, they can explore the following:

• The life and work of the person on the banknote
• Their greatest achievements
• The importance the person on the banknote has for their respective culture

You can turn this activity into homework for which the students will have to research the people in the banknotes or prepare presentations themselves. The latter option is especially effective if you have a multicultural class, so your students can talk about the figures in their national banknotes and share their culture with other classmates.

Not Too Old for Fairytales  

If you think your high school students have grown out of fairy tales, think again. Folk tales carry the history, language, tradition, and values of the cultures they originate from.

Fairy tales often come in numerous variants because they have been told and retold in different parts of the world throughout history. This is excellent for teaching cultural diversity since it’s an undeniable testament to how varied our planet is in terms of cultures. Plus, your students will have fun getting a new perspective on the story they’ve known since their infancy.

What Does That Article Say Again?

In her article— Multicultural Education —Deborah Menkart suggests an innovative approach to teaching about cultures and social prejudices. You can have your students read or find articles in newspapers or magazines, whether the printed or online versions, and proof them for any ingrained cultural biases.

If you want to execute Menkart’s idea to the fullest, have your students write an appeal to the boards of these media organizations to remedy the cultural errors or misconceptions in the articles they’ve read. What a way to employ an interdisciplinary project into your culture teaching! 

Do You Have Your Own Culture Project Ideas To Share?

Reshaping school culture so that it is inclusive and diverse is necessary. Teaching also has to be focused on equity and real-world learning. If you agree and have ideas for culture projects that educators can employ in their classroom, why not write to us?

Let’s work together to bring the much-needed innovations in schools so that our students can have the tools to succeed in the world that has changed to the point that traditional education cannot prepare them for.

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50 Cultural Activities (with Real-Life Examples)

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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Cultural activities are any activities that have unique significance to a culture and constitute engaging in the culture.

These activities are consider to be highly important because they help to pass-on, continue, and strengthen cultural values, beliefs, and practices.

Examples of cultural activities include participating in cultural dances, cooking traditional foods, learning about cultural attitudes, attending museum, and many, many more. We’ll explore these below.

Cultural Activities (With Examples)

1. traditional dancing.

Culture: Global

Traditional dancing refers to a form of dance that is specific to a particular culture, society, or region. These dances have been passed down through generations, embodying history, stories and traditions of the people who originated them. From the elegance of Ballet in France to the energetic beats of African dances, each dance is unique and reflective of its culture.

2. Storytelling Sessions

Storytelling sessions are an age-old practice where stories are narrated orally to an audience. Historically used as a method for educating, entertaining, and passing on moral lessons or cultural beliefs, these sessions can range from fables and folktales (e.g. The Hare and the Tortoise) to historical accounts or personal experiences and are significant to many cultures worldwide.

3. Pottery Making

Culture: Global, notably in Asian and Native American communities

Pottery making involves forming clay into objects of a desired shape and then heating them to high temperatures in a kiln to induce reactions that solidify the clay. This art form has been practiced by various civilizations for thousands of years, often used for utilitarian purposes but also as an artistic medium, with distinctive styles reflecting different cultural traditions and histories.

4. Calligraphy

Culture: East Asia, notably Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cultures, and Arabic cultures

Calligraphy is a visual art related to writing that involves designing and executing lettering with a broad-tipped instrument, brush, or other writing instrument. Revered in East Asian and Arabic cultures, this art form embodies aesthetic beauty, personal expression, and frequently serves as a medium for poetry.

5. Theatre Performances

Culture: Global, notably Western cultures and Asian cultures (Indian, Chinese, Japanese)

Theatre performances are staged productions where actors perform a story in front of an audience, often on a stage. From Greek tragedies to Elizabethan dramas to Japanese Noh Theatre, these performances are not merely forms of entertainment, but they also provide a reflection of society, culture, and human experience.

6. Folk Music Concerts

Folk music concerts represent events where traditional, indigenous music is performed live. Such music, passed down through generations, often tells stories of a people, depicts their daily life or beliefs, and is a significant part of various cultures around the world, from Appalachian Mountain music to the musical traditions of African tribes.

Culture: Japan

Origami, a traditional Japanese art form, involves folding paper into decorative shapes and figures. Starting from simple figures like cranes and flowers, it can extend to complex representations, reflecting a sense of harmony, balance, and patience that is inherent in Japanese culture.

8. Henna Tattooing

Culture: Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia

Henna tattooing, or Mehndi, is a form of body art using a paste made from the powdered dry leaves of the henna plant. Mostly used in ceremonial events such as weddings, the intricate, lace-like designs symbolize joy, beauty, and spiritual awakening.

9. Mask-making

Culture: Global, notably in African, Native American, and East Asian cultures

Mask-making represents a tradition where masks, often symbolizing deities, spirits, or ancestors, are crafted from various materials. These masks are frequently used in rituals, ceremonies, or theatre, embodying the cultural beliefs and mythologies of the peoples creating them.

10. Culinary Classes (e.g., Sushi-making)

Culture: Specific to each culinary tradition, Sushi-making refers to Japan

Culinary classes are educational sessions where you learn to prepare specific recipes or dishes under professional guidance. For instance, sushi-making classes delve into the traditional Japanese art of preparing sushi, where you are taught how to select the right fish, cook the perfect rice, and roll sushi.

11. Tea Ceremonies

Culture: East Asia, notably in Chinese and Japanese cultures

Tea ceremonies are traditional rituals involving the preparation and presentation of tea. In China and Japan, these ceremonies are art forms encompassing philosophy and aesthetics, embodying values of peace, harmony, and tranquility.

12. Poetry Readings

Poetry readings involve the vocal presentations of poems, often conducted in a group setting. Intended to bring the authored text to life through vocal expression, these sessions showcase diverse poetic styles across the globe, making it a rich cultural experience. A key example of this is the beat poetry of the 1950s and 1960s in the United States, representing a unique American cultural form.

13. Film Festivals

Film festivals are organized events that showcase a selection of films, often in a specific genre, or from a certain country. Providing a platform for new talent, promoting cultural diversity, and encouraging critical dialogue about films and filmmaking, these events are globally significant cultural activities. Of course, France’s Cannes Film Festival comes foremost to mind.

14. Cultural Parades

Cultural parades are public processions celebrating a specific culture or a range of cultures, usually accompanied by music, dancing, and elaborate costumes or floats. For instance, the Mardi Gras Parade in New Orleans or the Notting Hill Carnival in London are famous for their vibrant colors, joyous dancing, and the multitude of people who come together to celebrate culture and community.

15. Puppetry Shows

Culture: Global, notably in Asian and European cultures

Puppetry shows are performances where puppets are used to tell a story. Bunraku from Japan, Wayang from Indonesia, and Punch-and-Judy shows from England are some examples of distinct puppetry traditions which have entertained audiences and presented cultural narratives for centuries.

16. Batik Painting

Culture: Indonesia, Malaysia

Batik painting is an Indonesian traditional art form where patterns are drawn onto fabric using wax before it is dyed. This technique creates a distinctive image with cracked or veined textures. Batik is not just an art; it’s a symbol of national identity, most notably exemplified by Indonesia’s “Batik Day,” when everyone wears Batik to celebrate their cultural heritage.

17. Ikebana (Japanese Flower Arranging)

Ikebana, traditional Japanese flower arranging, is more than mere decoration. It’s a disciplined art form where nature and humanity are brought together. Arrangements are highly considered and each object’s shape, line, and form are carefully chosen, leading to a balanced, harmonious composition. An example of its cultural influence could be the Ikebana International organization, with more than 250 chapters and thousands of members globally, dedicated to promoting and appreciating this intricate Japanese art.

18. Drum Circles

Culture: Global, notably in African, Native American, and Latin cultures

Drum circles are gatherings of individuals who come together to create improvised rhythm music using drums and other percussion instruments. A reflection of community unity, these circles are often spiritual or healing in nature. They are prevalent in many cultures, with the Djembe drum circles of West Africa and the Taiko drumming groups in Japan being notable examples.

19. Traditional Weaving

Culture: Global, notably in Asian, African, and Indigenous cultures

Traditional weaving is the practice of interlacing two sets of threads at right angles to create cloth. It varies across cultures, with distinct patterns, techniques, and materials. Examples include the Navajo rugs in Native American culture, the Kente cloth of the Ashanti people in Ghana, and the Thai silk weaving in Thailand’s northeastern villages.

20. Sand Art

Culture: Global, notably in Indian, Tibetan, and Native American cultures

Sand art involves creating images, shapes, or designs using sand, on a flat surface or in a bottle. From sand mandalas by Tibetan monks as a form of meditation and spiritual offering to the Indian tradition of rangoli – geometric designs created during festivals – sand art speaks of cultural diversity in its many forms.

21. Indigenous Yarning Circles

Culture: Australian Indigenous communities

Indigenous yarning circles are a traditional part of Aboriginal culture in Australia. They provide a harmonious context for communication where everyone has an equal right to voice their opinion, fostering respect, empathy, and social bonding . This tradition is strongly upheld today in many Indigenous communities and has been utilized in educational and professional settings as a tool for inclusive discussion and learning.

22. Kite Flying Festivals

Culture: China, Japan, India, Pakistan

Kite flying festivals entail the tradition of flying kites, generally to celebrate seasonal changes, religious occasions, or local customs. Some notable examples include the Weifang International Kite Festival in China, renowned as the world’s kite capital, the Makar Sankranti festival in India, and the Basant festival in Pakistan, both marking the arrival of spring with kite flying competitions.

23. Cultural Fairs and Exhibitions

Cultural fairs and exhibitions are events showcasing and celebrating the history, traditions, and artistic achievements of a particular culture. The Smithsonian Folklife Festival in the U.S., Rio Carnaval in Brazil, and the World Expo, hosted by various nations, offer unique, immersive experiences where you can witness a spectrum of cultures in their full richness.

24. Traditional Games and Sports

Traditional games and sports refer to recreational activities rooted in cultural traditions and history. They range from the Scottish Highland Games, specifically caber tossing, the Inuit event of Knuckle Hop in the Arctic Winter Games, to the Japanese Sumo Wrestling and Sepak Takraw, a highly acrobatic ‘kick volleyball’ sport prevalent in Southeast Asia.

25. Religious Ceremonies

Culture: Global, Specific to each religion

Religious ceremonies comprise rituals, rites, or services held in accordance with the practices of a particular faith. These are fundamental in expressing and propagating religious beliefs and traditions. The Christian rite of Baptism, the Muslim prayer Salat, the Hindu wedding ceremony, and the Jewish Bar Mitzvah are examples, each representing profound spiritual meaning and cultural significance in its respective religion.

26. Historical Reenactments

Culture: Global, notably in European and North American cultures

Historical reenactments are live portrayals of historical periods or events, often performed with period costume and props. Examples are the reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg in the United States, which commemorates the American Civil War, and the Jorvik Viking Festival in the United Kingdom, which brings to life the Viking Age.

27. Tribal Chants and Songs

Culture: Indigenous cultures globally, notably in Pacific Islands, Native America, and Africa

Tribal Chants and Songs are oral transmissions of history, traditions, and sacred rituals within indigenous cultures. Hawaiian Mele chants, Native American powwow songs, and Maori Haka war dances, encompassing both songs and chants, are potent tools in preserving cultural identity and ancestral knowledge.

28. Cultural Workshops

Cultural workshops refer to gatherings where participants learn about a specific aspect of a culture. An example could be a workshop on Flamenco dancing in Spain, where participants learn the dance steps, rhythms, and history of this traditional Spanish art form.

29. Traditional Medicine Workshops

Culture: Various, notably in China, India, and Indigenous cultures

Traditional medicine workshops are courses where participants learn about healing practices native to various cultures. One could attend a workshop on Ayurveda in India, learning about its holistic approach to health, or learn about TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) practices such as acupuncture and herbal medicine in China.

30. Ethnic Fashion Shows

Ethnic fashion shows are events where traditional clothing and fashion styles from various cultures are showcased. Lagos Fashion Week in Nigeria features African designers promoting Africa’s rich fashion tradition, while Japan’s Kimono Fashion Show exhibits the elegance and diversity of kimono styles, going beyond the mainstream, to highlight its cultural depth.

31. Call and Response Singing

Culture: African cultures, African-American communities

Call and response singing involves a lead singer offering a distinct phrase, and a group replying with a specific answer, creating a pattern of musical dialogue. A testament to African oral traditions, this method has significantly influenced music genres like gospel, blues, and jazz in African-American communities, such as the classic gospel song “Oh Happy Day.”

32. Mural Painting

Culture: Global, notably Mexican and North American communities

Mural painting is the art of painting directly on walls, ceilings, or other large permanent surfaces, often telling a story or making a point. Diego Rivera, a renowned Mexican muralist, used his art to address the social and political lives of the Mexican people. The Belfast murals in Northern Ireland depict their community’s political and religious divisions.

33. Traditional Jewelry Making

Culture: Global, notably in India, Africa, Native American communities

Traditional jewelry making involves crafting jewelry pieces that reflect the cultural aesthetics and symbolism of a community. Be it the intricate gold jewelry of India, the colorful, beadwork of Kenyan tribes, or the turquoise-infused pieces of the Navajo tribe – each tells their unique cultural story.

34. Cultural Photography Exhibitions

Cultural photography exhibitions showcase photographs capturing the essence of different cultures. The World Press Photo Exhibition, globally touring over 100 cities each year, displays powerful cultural narratives and perspectives. Similarly, I recall traveling to Hoi An in Vietnam and seeing beautiful photo galleries of villagers wearing their traditional outfits, passing-on their culture through photos.

35. Sacred Rituals and Dances

Culture: Global, notably in Indigenous, Asian, African cultures

Sacred rituals and dances are ceremonies rooted in religious or spiritual beliefs, and are often integral to cultural identity. Examples range from the Balinese Kecak dance, the Hopi Snake Dance in Native American tradition, to the African Zulu Reed Dance. Each rituals or dance, with its unique rhythms, movements, and symbolism, constitutes a signature of its respective culture.

36. Ancestral Worship Ceremonies

Culture: African, Asian cultures, notably China, Japan, Vietnam

Ancestral worship ceremonies involve rites to honor ancestors’ spirits, frequently held in high regard within the society’s cultural and religious framework. For instance, in China, Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, witnesses families tending ancestral graves, while in Japan, the Obon Festival welcomes ancestral spirits back to the world of the living.

37. Traditional Martial Arts Demonstrations

Culture: East Asia, particularly China, Japan, and Korea

Traditional martial arts demonstrations are displays of specific combat practices native to different cultures, often embodying a blend of physical prowess and spiritual development. From the Chinese Kung Fu, the Japanese Karate, to the Korean Taekwondo, such demonstrations are a testimony to these cultures’ ancient wisdom and discipline.

38. Cultural Storytelling through Shadow Puppetry

Culture: East Asia, notably in Indonesia, China, Thailand

Cultural storytelling through shadow puppetry involves the use of cut-out figures that are held between a source of light and a translucent screen. Narratives shared through this medium are unique cultural gems. Noteworthy examples include the Wayang Kulit of Indonesia and the Nang Yai of Thailand, both UNESCO cultural heritage traditions.

39. Ethnic Instrument-Making Workshops

Culture: Global, notably in Africa, Asia, Native American communities

Ethnic instrument-making workshops offer a hands-on experience to learn the craft behind traditional musical instruments. From African Djembe drum-making workshops to Japanese Shakuhachi flute-making classes, or Native American flute crafting sessions, each bears the distinctive resonance of cultural heritage.

40. Traditional Embroidery and Textile Arts

Culture: Global, notably in South Asia, Middle East, and Latin American cultures

Traditional embroidery and textile arts cover the techniques to embellish fabrics with needle and thread, often creating intricate designs that reflect regional aesthetics. The Phulkari of Punjab in India, the Palestinian Tatreez embroidery, and the colorful textile arts of Peru are just a few examples that showcase this craft’s cultural diversity.

41. Local Craft Fairs

Local craft fairs are festive events where artisans display and sell their handicrafts. They are often full of cultural character such as the Christmas Markets held across various European cities, the Santa Fe Indian Market that showcases Native American art in the United States, or the Marrakesh souks in Morocco, each reflecting local creativity and tradition.

42. Cultural Heritage Walks and Tours

Cultural heritage walks and tours offer guided exploration of a location’s historical, architectural, or cultural sites. For instance, the Freedom Trail in Boston provides insights into U.S. history, while the numerous heritage walks across Kyoto reveal a profound essence of Japanese culture.

43. Traditional Beadwork Sessions

Culture: Global, notably in African, Native American, and Indigenous cultures worldwide

Traditional beadwork sessions involve crafting items using beads, often following cultural designs and techniques. The Zulu beadwork in South Africa, expressing social codes and relationships, or the intricate beadwork in Native American tribes like the Apache and Sioux, both attest to the cultural nuances this artform can communicate.

44. Ceremonial Feasts and Dinners

Ceremonial feasts and dinners are an integral part of many cultural traditions, typically celebrating a special occasion or ritual. The Passover Seder feast within Jewish tradition, the Thanksgiving dinner in the United States, or the communal Iftar meal breaking the day-long fast during Ramadan in Muslim cultures are instances of shared meals fostering cultural bonding.

45. Indigenous Art Exhibitions

Culture: Indigenous cultures globally

Indigenous art exhibitions display artwork created by native or indigenous peoples, reflecting their heritage and traditions. The Biennial of Indigenous Art in Canada showcases indigenous talent from the Americas, while the National Gallery of Australia hosts exhibits of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, presenting rich cultural narratives.

46. Cultural Tattooing Sessions

Culture: Global, notably Polynesian, Japanese, and Native American cultures

Cultural tattooing sessions involve the application of traditional tattoos, often bearing profound cultural significance. The tribal tattoos of Polynesia, known as ‘Tatau,’ Japanese Irezumi tattoos, and the Native American Haida tribe’s tattoos, each carry distinct historical symbolism and links to cultural identity.

47. Traditional Wood Carving

Culture: Global, notably in African, Asian, and Native American cultures

Traditional wood carving involves shaping wood into artistic forms using various tools. African tribal masks, the ornate carvings of Indonesian furniture, the totems of Native American tribes, and the intricate designs of the Chinese Dongyang wood carving are stunning illustrations of this craft’s cultural interpretation.

48. Local Folklore Sessions

Local folklore sessions involve storytelling or performances that preserve and convey a community’s traditional beliefs, myths, and legends. This can range from the Norse Mythology storytelling evenings held in Scandinavia, to the Native American oral tradition of recounting tribal histories and legends, to the folklore storytelling in the Irish seanachai tradition.

See More: Folklore Examples

49. Cultural Astronomy Nights

Culture: Global, notably in Indigenous and ancient cultures

Cultural astronomy nights provide an understanding of how various cultures viewed the night sky and incorporated celestial observations into their mythologies, calendars, and rituals. The Mauna Kea stargazing program, Hawaii, illustrates Polynesian wayfinding, while Stonehenge in the UK hosts gatherings during the summer solstice to mirror the rituals of ancient Celts.

50. Traditional Riddle and Proverb Sessions

Traditional riddle and proverb sessions involve posing and solving riddles, or discussing the meaning and application of proverbs, often tied to cultural values or lessons. The Swahili culture in East Africa, for example, values riddles and proverbs as an educational tool, fostering critical thinking skills , while in Scotland, traditional ceilidhs often include riddles and stories as part of the celebration.

There are, of course, many more cultural activities that you’ll likely find in your town or city, demonstrating the very wide diversity of possible cultural activities you could engage in. However, the above list, I think, captures some of that diversity, and hopefully presents you with some ideas of how to participate in culture – be it your own, or one you’re invited to admire and celebrate.

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10 Fun Cultural Diversity Games And Activities For High School Class

Every region, even in a single country, differs culturally to a great extent. As a result, introducing students to various forms of culture right from their school days has become necessary. Cultural diversity is about appreciating that society is made up of many different groups with different interests, skills, talents, and needs. Understanding the significance of cultural diversity through experience becomes very important. 

Sharing knowledge regarding various cultures in the classroom need not only be done through history books or through theoretical materials, it can also be done in a playful manner. The aspects of various cultures can be introduced to high school students by organizing festivals, competitions, social experiences, and different cultural activities. They help in cultivating awareness and spreading a sense of acceptance regarding different cultures. 

Check different creative activities and games and encourage students to learn about cultures and understand the uniqueness, specialty, and history behind them. 

Fun activities to promote cultural diversity in high school

Classroom activities promote learning in a comprehensive manner. Students also get an opportunity to understand and accept the different views of their classmates. 

1. The Festival Week

As we talk about multicultural diversity, festivals are an important part of it. Festivals represent the community’s beliefs, rituals, and traditional practices. This type of activity allows students to explore different cultures in a creative format.

• Make a list of festivals that can be celebrated and talked about in the classroom
• Keep one student for each festival
• Ask students to dress traditionally as per the norms of the festival
• They can also carry any specific food item which is made during that festival for the whole classroom
• Ask students to speak about the history of the festival and the various traditions done during the time period of the festival

This activity creates a fun environment in the class. It encourages appreciation and enjoyment of various cultures. It unites students and helps them bond on a deeper level. Along with this, students learn about the different traditions and festivals celebrated in unique ways all around the world.

2. Culture Food Festival

Without a traditional type of food, every culture is simply bland. Organizing a cultural food festival is a helpful way to make the experience of celebration tasty and lively. Nobody hates food, and when there are so many options to explore, nobody would want to miss that day of school!

• Ask students to bring a food item that belongs specifically to their culture
• Before eating, ask students to tell the name of the food item and its detailed recipe
• Ask them to give some information about the flavors used in that particular dish 

This is a playful activity where students get to enjoy the different delicacies prepared in different cultures. They get to experience the taste of different spices, vegetables, and desserts. They also get a chance to enjoy and celebrate the different festivals as if they are their own.

3. What’s Different?

We all learn a lot of things from each other’s cultures. Every culture teaches and awes individuals in various ways. Encourage this among students, it requires them to think more intently and care about each other’s culture. 

• Select a day in advance and address this topic with students
• Ask students to prepare a list of a few things regarding what they like about a specific culture
• Organize a discussion day and ask students to share their opinions and learn from each other

This activity promotes a sense of acceptance, and awareness and makes students comfortable with each other. Along with that, they get to learn new things and also realize things from each other’s perspectives.

4. Learn and Recite

Literature, poetry and art are intrinsic parts of every culture. This activity encourages students to glance through the beauty of poems and songs which are found in different cultures.

• Ask students to pick a poem or a song of their regional language and prepare it to present in the class. This will give a glimpse of the different languages to students.
• Give them a time of 2 days to learn and prepare it thoroughly.
• Encourage them to recite it in front of classmates. Educators may also ask them to explain the meaning of certain unique words too.

As students indulge in listening to languages and understanding rhythm, they also get to learn the beauty of folk songs. They also develop their active listening skills in the activity.

5. That’s what we do!

Every culture has a unique way of things, right from greeting and cooking to celebrating and worshiping. This uniqueness is what makes every culture significant and something to look at with awe.

• Ask students to share one significant thing about their culture
• Give them turns to talk
• Ask other students to state something significant and unique in other cultures
• The student who belongs to a particular culture then has to explain the reason behind why this particular act or tradition is done in their culture signify

When students share personal experiences and stories of their traditions, they get to connect with each other at a deeper level. They also get an opportunity to learn about the meaning behind different traditions.

Engaging cultural games to play in the classroom

Various classroom games are a great way to indulge students in creativity and a challenging environment. As students have the aspect of winning or losing, they are more likely to actively learn during games.

1. The Fact Check

Playing quizzes and checking facts is an interesting type of game that many students like to participate in. Such games enhance the general knowledge of the participants and help in witty discussions. 

• Put chits with names of different countries and cultures 
• Divide students into teams of 5
• Ask them pick a chit
• Students have to state 2-3 facts in a span of 3 minutes about the culture/country. For example, People in Africa drink water in Eggshells 
• The team with the highest number of right facts wins the game

This game enhances the general knowledge of students regarding various cultures of the world. Along with this, it helps them gain exposure to a competition-like situation. The game demands analysis, thinking and working efficiently under pressure.

2. My Uniqueness

Every culture has a set of unique ideas, art, literature, food, music, and various other things. This game is about finding that unique set of things jumbled up in a piece of a word search puzzle.

• Make a team of 5 students 
• Take any specific culture
• Make a word search puzzle in such a way that the most known unique things about culture are hidden in that word puzzle
• Distribute the sheet of word search puzzles in the classroom
• The team to find all the words in minimum time wins

This game enhances the vocabulary skills of students. It also introduces them to a set of new words belonging to different languages. 

3. Draw, Don’t Talk

A game becomes even more fun when clubbed with the aspects of drawing. It enhances creativity and also makes students stress-free. 

• A set of names of different countries are put on flashcards
• Students have to pick one card
• Divide the student into teams of 5 students each
• Let each team pick one flashcard
• The team has to draw a set of 5 pictures that are renowned from that country or culture 
• For example, if Italy comes on the card, a student can draw a Ferrari, a pizza, or the leaning tower of Pisa
• Two teams will be competing simultaneously 
• The team to draw the 5 objects first wins

This game enhances the critical thinking component. It provides exposure to working and performing spontaneously during pressure situations. A certain amount of involvement and playfulness is for sure to be observed while conducting this game.

4. Make your Hat!

Every country has a different terrain and atmosphere surrounding it, which forces for a lot of variations in housing, settlement, and clothing. Every culture has a very different type of hat that is specific to them. 

• In this activity, students need to make a wearable hat of a specific location or culture 
• Students can research it well in advance
• They should know the name of the hat and give a little information about it
• The one who does all this creatively wins the game

Hats differ from region to region and when students make such hats, they develop research and analytical thinking skills. It also helps them stay connected with art forms of different cultures.

5. Paint and Show

Cultures across the world have different folk art and themes of colors. This game adds all the necessary color and fun which can light up the everyday class with joyfulness. 

• In this game, everyone gets a small pot
• On this pot, they have to paint and create a small art form
• The challenge is that they have to paint a small story of a specific culture
• For example, they may opt for a Warli painting dedicated to a specific location 
• The one who does it creatively and innovatively wins the game

Painting is a fun game but when students do it for winning, they develop abstract thinking skills as well. The challenging environment boosts creativity and enhances the overall acceptance of different cultures.

Why is learning cultural diversity important for high schoolers?

Cultural diversity is a crucial concept in everyday life. We generally strike up conversations with shopkeepers, grocers, and salespeople belonging to different cultures. Hence, check why it is so important to inculcate the attitude of being culturally aware for students.

1. Develops a Sense of Respect

Respecting other cultures and maintaining integrity encourages harmony and unity in the classroom. Igniting minds by helping them inculcate the attitude of respecting other cultures and faith is henceforth important. Students feel involved simply by gaining insights into other cultures and learning about them. Various ignorances can be cleared when they develop awareness. 

2. Creates a Positive Attitude 

A learning environment needs to be positive for all learners. Students from different locations and cultures sit together in one classroom. Hence, it is significant to develop a positive attitude toward each other’s communication style, eating habits, and general beliefs. A positive attitude in the classroom develops empathy in students thereby eliminating discrimination.

3. Enhances Knowledge and Learning Environment

When one learns about the different cultures present throughout this world, one is actually traveling mentally to that place. Knowing the different cultures of the world helps in understanding the various ways of different types of people. It gives a great insight into the development of this human civilization as a whole. The learning environment is empowered with inclusiveness, acceptance, celebration, and playfulness.

4. Instills a Feeling of Equality

Knowing other cultures and being open and accepting towards others is a way to avoid disrespect. Spreading awareness about cultural diversity can hence promote a sense of equality and help individuals overcome discrimination. It also makes students feel equal to others no matter their caste, creed, religion, or color. 

5. Fosters Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is the ability to think about the purpose of a particular thing. It is based on finding solutions that can help people solve various problems. Every culture has a history in which some sort of social problem used to exist. Studying various cultures can give one keen insight related to a lot of factors relevant today. This tendency instilled in individuals by studying the different types of cultures can help them develop critical thinking. Furthermore, understanding cultural diversity can also be a good example of critical thinking. 

Wrapping up..

Culture plays an important role in the social identity of any human being. As students get an opportunity to learn about different cultures, they develop the skills of acceptance and appreciation. It is significant that students understand the concept of diversity and learn to adjust to different learning environments. Activities are a helpful way to foster this skill as they are fun and engaging for the classroom setting. 

I am Shweta Sharma. I am a final year Masters student of Clinical Psychology and have been working closely in the field of psycho-education and child development. I have served in various organisations and NGOs with the purpose of helping children with disabilities learn and adapt better to both, academic and social challenges. I am keen on writing about learning difficulties, the science behind them and potential strategies to deal with them. My areas of expertise include putting forward the cognitive and behavioural aspects of disabilities for better awareness, as well as efficient intervention. Follow me on LinkedIn

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Cultural Diversity Activities, Lesson Plans & Resources

Teach students to respect differences among people in their community and worldwide by using the cultural diversity activities below for elementary, intermediate, or high school students. You'll find printables that promote tolerance, and lessons to help build an understanding of equity and inclusion in the classroom. Art, reading, and writing activities will help familiarize students with the history and traditions of different religions and ethnic groups.

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Cultural Diversity Activities & Printables, Grades K-5

Use these printables to teach your students about the recipes, art and history of other cultures. These printables include puzzles, activities, teaching guides and more!

• Same Name Word Puzzle
• Similar and Different Activity
• Celebrations Around the World
• Seedfolks Teacher's Guide
• Paper Doll Cut-Outs
• Thanks Around the World
• World Class Recipes
• More Diversity Printables

Cultural Diversity Activities & Printables, Grades 6-12

Create in-depth discussions about the importance of diversity with these printables for grades 6-12. Below you will find activities, discussion questions, teaching guides and much more relating to the significance and understanding of diversity.

• The Color of Water
• Civil and Human Rights Discussion Guide
• Kente Cloth
• Celebrating Diversity with Art: January-March (3-6)
• Beyond Blame -- Complete Unit
• Celebrate Hispanic Heritage
• Introduction to Religious Diversity

Diversity-centered Lesson Plans & Activities

Our lesson plans will help you begin to discuss diversity with your students. Included are activities about immigration and language differences that will provide students with a glimpse of the diversity throughout the world.

• Self-Portrait
• An Immigrant's Story
• Immigrants' Experiences
• Immigrant Families
• How Do You Say Hello?

Art, Music, Drama, & Diversity Connected

Diversity is celebrated through many different forms, such as art and music. Help students celebrate their differences with these fun coloring pages, classroom activities, music lessons and much more!

• Celebrating Diversity with Art: April-June (3-6)
• Where I Live
• Different Just Like Me April Coloring Page
• Different Just Like Me Station Coloring Page
• Music Migrated, Too!
• Celebrating Diversity with Art: July-September (3-6)
• More Diversity Resources for Art, Music, & Drama

Immigration Resources

Immigration is a significant part of U.S. culture and history. Use our discussion guides, activities and history lessons to help students experience the life of immigrants and the diversity they provide.

• In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
• Acadian History
• The Importance of Wings Discussion Guide
• More Immigration Teacher Resources

Literature & Diversity Connected

Diversity is a constant theme in literature. Help students' comprehend the readings with these discussion guides, reading warm-ups, journal exercises and much more!

• Historical Fiction Reading Warm-Up: Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Reading Warm-Up for Gr. 1 & 2: Christmas Tamales
• A Teaching Guide to the World of Ezra Jack Keats
• Journal of Children of the World
• Children from Australia to Zimbabwe Excerpt
• Don't Say Ain't Discussion Guide
• More Literature Resources for Diversity

Reading, Language Arts, & Diversity Connected

The resources below will help students understand the diversity present in their readings. Our vocabulary sheets, teaching guides, discussion guides and foreign language worksheets are all geared towards helping students comprehend and celebrate diversity.

• Spanish-English Flashcards for The Story of Ferdinand
• Teaching Astronomy with Multicultural Mythology
• Celebrate African-American Heritage & Culture
• More Diversity Resources for Reading & Language Arts

Diversity Resources for History Class

Diversity has been treated differently throughout history. Our printables, teaching guides, immigration resources and more will teach students the history of different cultures and how diversity has been treated throughout the world during different time periods.

• Supporting Tolerance and Cultural Understanding at Home and Around the World
• Has the Past Been Just? Handouts
• Metis Heritage Flag
• Sharing the Hispanic-American Heritage Experience
• More Diversity Resources for History Class

Religious Diversity Resources

Use our teaching guides, historical lessons and more to teach students about the different religions throughout the world and the history of each one.

• Confessions of a Closet Catholic Teacher's Guide
• Religious Intolerance in European History
• More Religion & Diversity Resources

Diversity Resources for Holidays

Enhance students' understanding of the various holidays different from their own with our teaching guides, worksheets, activities, crafts and more! These resources will help students understand the multiple holidays celebrated by different cultures throughout the year.

• Ho! Ho! Ho! The History of Christmas
• White Cane Safety Day
• Sharing the Asian American Heritage Experience
• Celebrating Diversity with Art: October-December (3-6)
• Join Hands Discussion & Activity Guide
• More Diversity Resources for Holidays

Cross-Cultural Resources

Guide students through a cross-cultural experience with the resources below. Our worksheets and lessons will enable students to see the point of view of others and appreciate diversity more.

• Beyond Blame -- Additional Resources
• How Can You Prevent Injustice? Handouts
• What is Justice? What is the Injustice Here?
• What is Justice? What is the Injustice Here? Handouts
• More Cross-Cultural Resources

Black History Month Resources

February is Black History Month. Explore the many contributions of African-Americans with our cross-curricular lessons, printables, quizzes, and activities below.

• February Activities: Black History Month and Valentine's Day
• February Activities: Presidents' Day & the Shortest Month
• African Folk Tales: Background Information
• A Raisin in the Sun
• Maniac Magee Literature Guide
• Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
• Billie Holiday's Song "Strange Fruit"
• More Black History Month Resources

Asian-American History Resources

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is celebrated in May. Use our lessons, printables, and activities to explore the art, food, music, and writing of these great cultures.

• Chinese Music
• Making an Erhu
• Has the Past Been Just?
• Chinese New Year Dragon Puppet
• Paper Making
• Making a Koto
• More Asian-Pacific-American History Teacher Resources

Hispanic Heritage Resources

The study of Hispanic heritage offers you the chance to explore many diverse and rich cultures with your class during Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15–October 15). These lesson plans, printables, activities, and references will enrich your classroom study.

• Introduction to Mariachi Music
• The House on Mango Street
• Traditional Circle Game from Puerto Rico
• Picasso's Guernica
• Mexico's Day of the Dead
• Mexican-American Mariachi Music
• Make a Tunable Drum
• More Hispanic Heritage Resources for Teachers

Native-American Heritage Resources

Look below for lessons, activities, and printables on Native American life and culture. Use these resources to teach students of all ages about the colonization of America from a different perspective.

• Tipi Pattern
• Island of the Blue Dolphins Activities
• The Trail of Tears
• Indian Symbols and Meanings
• The Navajo Code Talkers
• Sign of the Beaver
• Native American Music: Call-and-Response
• More American Indians & Native Americans - Teacher Resources

Equality Resources

Help students understand equality and what it means to be equal with our lesson plans, activities, worksheets and more!

• Thinking about Prejudice
• Amelia Earhart's Solo Flight
• Prejudice: Balanced or Biased?
• The Kindness-Catcher Camera
• Women's Suffrage Art Project
• YMCA Word Search
• African-Americans and Others Fight Discrimination
• More Equality Resources

Additional Diversity Resources

Continue the discussion and understanding of diversity with our additional resources. Below you will find teaching strategies, music resources, bilingual resources, resources for teaching students with learning disabilities and more!

• Understanding Different Points of View
• Beyond Blame: Reacting to the 9/11 Terrorist Attack
• Multicultural Music Resources
• Culturally Diverse Students with Learning Difficulties
• Crossover Children: LD and Gifted

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20 Culture Wheel Activities for Students

April 18, 2023 //  by  Keren Dinkin

Looking for an exciting way to teach culture and social identities to your students? Incorporating culture wheel activities can offer an engaging way to teach students about diverse cultures.

These thoughtful activities offer a wonderful visual representation of everything from ancient cultures to modern American culture to deliver lessons on cooperative learning and social-emotional skills. They are sure to help your class have an amazing cultural experience!

1. Culture Wheel Card Game

Engage your students in exploring different aspects of world heritage with this culture wheel card game! It’s a fun and interactive way to learn about social identities, cultural diversity, and more. Just spin the wheel, draw a card, and let the adventure begin!

Learn more: The Culture Wheel Card Game

2. Culture Wheel Trivia

Create a trivia game where students answer questions about various cultures and their traditions. You can use the online resources or create your own questions based on class discussions or assigned readings to make the game more engaging.

Learn more: Trivia Nerd

3. Social Identity Wheel

With this activity, you can help students explore and celebrate their unique identities, including aspects of their race, gender, and other important social markers. It’s a fun and educational way to promote diversity, self-awareness, and inclusion in the classroom.

Learn more: Awareness of Social Identities

4. Culture Wheel Survey

Have students take this online survey where they answer questions about their cultural background. They can then share their “cultural profiles” with the group and discuss what it means to have a sense of belonging. This is a simple activity that can encourage students to better understand their identity.

Learn more: Nautilus

5. Aboriginal Season Activity

This engaging and educational activity is perfect for teaching students about Aboriginal culture as it is designed to help students learn about the importance of seasonal changes in these cultures. It’s also a great way to incorporate cross-curricular learning into your lesson plan.

Learn more: Indigenous Seasons

6. Personal Culture Wheel

Encourage your students to discover their personal and family backgrounds by interviewing their families to learn more about their cultural identity. It’s an exploration worth undertaking for students to learn more about themselves and the world around them.

Learn more: Personal Culture Pizza

7. 360 Degrees of Culture: Creating Culture Wheels

Take a more mathematical yet still creative approach to create culture wheels. Inform students about the different elements (food, language, etc.) to include and encourage them to do some research. Next, have them create a precise culture wheel divided into 12 informative sections before decorating them and sharing their findings!

Learn more: GeoMath

8. Cultural Wheel of Fortune

Play a game of “Cultural Wheel of Fortune” where students spin a wheel and answer questions related to different cultures. You can make it more interesting by splitting the class into groups and rewarding a prize for the winning team!

Learn more: ESL Kids Game

9. Texas Immigrants Culture Wheel

Have the students look up information on immigrants who arrived in Texas during the 1800s. They can then add this information to the culture wheel before having a class discussion about the historical and cultural impact these migrants have had over the years.

Learn more: Teachers Pay Teachers

10. Culture Wheel

This fun activity will have students exploring their cultures and traditions through family stories, cultural objects, language, and symbols. It will help explore concepts such as cultural contexts, personal abilities, and strengths, along with personal values and choices.

Learn more: Blair Elementary School

11. Culture Wheel Scavenger Hunt

Engage students in a fun culture wheel scavenger hunt by challenging them to find and research various aspects of their culture and identity. Use the resource provided below as a guide for an activity that will broaden their cultural awareness and appreciation of global cultures.

Learn more: Elements of Culture

12. Culture Defined

Explore the meaning of “culture,” different cultural traits, and the various aspects it involves, such as customs, social institutions, arts, and more. Students can then create their very own culture wheels that are customized to reflect their personal and family backgrounds.

Learn more: Boys & Girls Clubs

13. Culturally Enriching Skit

Students may use their imagination to write and perform a skit that highlights significant cultural values, incorporating comedy or drama to convey their points. It’s an enjoyable and interactive way to learn about and respect different cultural viewpoints.

Learn more: Mr. Ethier Geo

14. Multicultural Awareness Patch Program

Raise awareness among your students about different global identities. Use the culture wheel to discuss how language, music, art, recipes, and traditions are all part of a larger culture. It’s a simple activity that can help the students learn more about our multicultural world.

Learn more: Girl Scouts of West Central Florida

15. First Week of School – Culture Wheel

This makes for a perfect icebreaker during the first week of school. Students can work on their personal culture wheel by focusing on any one aspect of the wheel. It’ll help them to get to know each other while promoting greater cultural understanding.

Learn more: Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day

16. Cultural Games

Use the games described on this site to design a culture wheel. Students can then spin the wheel and play traditional games from different cultures with their classmates. It’s a fun activity that will promote cultural exchange and understanding.

Learn more: Multicultural Kid Blogs

17. Cultural Events

Have students immerse themselves in a cultural festival before reflecting on their experiences. They can document personal insights, learnings, and takeaways and share with the class what they learned.

Learn more: eic22016

18. Cultural Dances

Create a culture wheel depicting different traditional and folk dances. Split the students into groups and spin the wheel. Students can learn one of these dances and put on a performance showcasing their newfound skills!

Learn more: Dynamic Music Room

19. Interview Cultural Leaders

Organize meetings with cultural or community leaders and have students conduct the interviews. This is a fantastic way for them to explore and document community traditions, customs, and cultural heritage through hearing firsthand experiences and perspectives.

Learn more: Who Are You Made Of

20. Cultural Dress-Up Day

Invite students to celebrate their cultural heritage by dressing up in traditional clothing from their cultural background. Encourage them to share the significance and meaning behind their clothing with their classmates.

Learn more: Jubilee

11 Ways to Celebrate Cultural Diversity in the Classroom

It doesn’t take an expert to tell you that your students are each different and unique. They come to the classroom with diverse backgrounds, including their cultures, ethnicities, religions, languages, and economic statuses. They have different opinions about politics and pop culture as well as different learning styles and levels of motivation.

As their teacher, you have the opportunity to create a special place where each student feels like he or she belongs. One of the ways you can foster that sense of belonging is by celebrating cultural diversity in the classroom. Whether your students are new to this country or their families have been here for generations, they will enjoy the opportunity to dig into their backgrounds and share information about their cultures.

That said, some students may not recognize their unique cultures. Be sure to point out that every family has things that make it special: traditions, family size or composition, or even activities they enjoy together.

• The Benefits of Celebrating Diversity in the Classroom

Implementing diversity activities in the classroom does much more than provide entertainment! The more your students know about other cultures, the better their understanding of the world around them. Let’s take a deeper look at the many benefits of celebrating diversity in the classroom.

A culturally diverse classroom helps students develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Encountering new and different ideas and perspectives makes students evaluate their viewpoints. Through group and partner work , students learn to respect their classmates’ differences. Plus, they will likely find things they have in common with each other.

Furthermore, students from diverse classrooms and schools tend to do better academically. Studies show that these students tend to score higher on achievement tests, drop out of school less often, and enroll in college more often.

Students become more empathetic when they encounter other cultures regularly. They’re less likely to develop biases and prejudices and more likely to be open to new thoughts, ideas, and opinions as they continue their education.

Planning activities to promote diversity in the classroom helps all students develop their leadership skills and become more self-confident. In addition, your students will have opportunities to develop relationships with people who look, think, act, and speak differently from them.

Future Benefits

All teachers, even in elementary classrooms, are preparing their students to head out into the world. When you prioritize exploring cultural diversity in the classroom, you open them up to a world that’s far bigger than their hometown.

Many companies want employees who are comfortable interacting with diverse individuals . When students have the opportunity to encounter other cultures from a young age, they’re better prepared to enter the global community as an adult.

• Top 11 Ways to Celebrate Cultural Diversity in the Classroom

By celebrating the diversity within your classroom, you can enrich your students’ learning experiences and help them expand their social circles. You will probably even benefit yourself in the process! There are many ways to incorporate diversity activities in the classroom. Here are some activities to promote diversity in your classroom.

1. Holiday Celebrations

Create a calendar that highlights celebrations around the world. Choose ones that represent the cultures of the students in your class. When a holiday comes up, take some time to discuss what it’s about and find simple ways to celebrate, such as:

• Making a relevant craft
• Serving a treat from that culture
• Reading a book associated with the holiday

Similarly, you can explore how different cultures celebrate the same holiday. For example, Christmas is celebrated in many cultures , but those celebrations can look very different. As major holidays in the U.S. approach, have your students share their favorite family traditions for those holidays.

Thanksgiving is a quintessentially American holiday. Each family represented in your classroom probably celebrates this holiday with its own flair. Invite your students to each share about a Thanksgiving tradition in their family. It may be a special food they eat, a game they play, or a movie they watch. Ask them if they know how this tradition started and what it means to them.

If possible, you could also consider hosting a classroom Thanksgiving meal. Ask students to bring a special dish that their family always eats on Thanksgiving. Have students provide the recipe for their dish, and turn the recipes into a classroom multicultural Thanksgiving cookbook.

2. Music and Art

Another way to promote diversity in the classroom is to partner with the music and art teachers in your school to dive into the music and art of the cultures represented by your students.

Talk about composers, musicians, and singers from each culture. Listen to samples of music, and talk about the similarities and differences your students hear. If there are instruments that are unique to a culture, show pictures of them to your students. Better yet, find the actual instruments for students to see firsthand.

You can also teach students simple folk songs from different cultures. Young students will especially enjoy learning fun songs. Find videos online of other people singing them, but be sure to check that the lyrics are age-appropriate for your students.

Talk about artists and art styles from your students’ cultures. Have students make a piece of art in the style of each culture, then display them in your classroom as part of a multicultural bulletin board.

3. Multicultural Library

Another way to promote cultural diversity in the classroom is to build a library that includes books with characters who live in or come from other countries. Include books written by a diverse array of authors as well. Be sure to include age-appropriate biographies of people from a wide variety of cultures.

4. Guest Speakers and Interviews

You can read extensively about another culture, but nothing tops getting information directly from the source. Invite people from different cultures to speak to your class either in person or virtually. By using video conferencing technology, your class can connect with people around your town, state, country, and even across the world!

Have your students prepare questions ahead of time to ask the speaker. Look for people who represent a wide array of life experiences, such as first-generation immigrants, multilingual people, and refugees. An easy place to start is with your students’ parents, grandparents, or older siblings.

You can also have your students conduct interviews with someone from a different culture than their own. This could include other students in your class, school staff, neighbors, or friends. Then, allow students to share something they learned from this person with the class.

5. Show and Tell

Ask students to bring in something from home that represents their culture. Then, have them present the item to the class and explain why it’s important to them. Have two or three students present each week throughout the school year. Be sure to remind students to ask permission from a parent or guardian before bringing an item to school!

6. Role-Playing

Have students choose an important person from their culture to research. The person can be a current or historical figure. Then, set aside a day for the students to dress like their person and present the information that they found . You could even modify this activity to have students choose a person from outside of their culture.

7. Games From Around the World

Another fun way to celebrate diversity in the classroom is to bring in international games for indoor recess and celebrations. Some easy-to-play games include Mancala , tangrams, and Ludo . Be sure to ask your students what their favorites are and invite them to bring a game from home to play when appropriate.

You can also talk about the sports and games that are popular in the countries your students’ families come from. If possible, find opportunities to go outside and play some of the sports and games that are shared.

8. Global Pen Pals

Encourage your students to write to pen pals. If you have students from a wide range of cultures in your class, you can pair students with friends or relatives of other students who live outside of the U.S. If you need ideas to get started, check out this program . It offers project-based opportunities for getting to know other students, schools, countries, and cultures.

9. Cultural Bulletin Board

Dedicate one bulletin board in your classroom to highlighting a different country or region of the world each month. Be sure to include pictures of the country and its location on a map as well as some simple words in the native language. You can even display information about famous people or events related to that country. Get creative!

10. Learn a New Language

Teaching about other languages is a great way to celebrate cultural diversity in the classroom. If you have students who speak languages other than English , allow them to share their languages with the other students. Ask each multilingual student to teach the class a few words in his or her native language. Here are a few simple ideas for words to share:

• Greetings and introductions
• Numbers from 1 to 20
• Months or seasons
• Family members

If a student isn’t comfortable in the teacher role, ask him or her to teach you first. Then, you can present the information to the class. Depending on your grade level, you could even have students get into groups to create short skits using the new words they’ve learned.

11. Multicultural Fair

One of the most popular activities to promote diversity in the classroom is hosting a Multicultural Fair.

Invite students to bring in food, games, crafts, or other items that represent their culture. Extend invitations to family members as well, and invite other classes in your school to attend. You could also partner with other teachers to make a bigger celebration or turn it into a school-wide fair and incorporate the fair into your curriculum .

Structured activities in listening, reading, writing, and speaking help English language learners (ELLs) develop grade-level academic language needed for classroom success.

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7 Activities to Build Community and Positive Classroom Culture During Online Learning

Ideas for creating authentic connections, meaningful relationships and classroom camaraderie through the screen.

By The Learning Network

When schools transitioned to remote learning in the spring, teachers worked quickly to adapt lesson plans and curriculums for virtual classes, while also trying to maintain community and connection. This fall, not only will many educators continue that same work, but they will have the added challenge of building community with students they’ve never met.

To support educators who are trying to do this, we’ve compiled a list of strategies that can foster meaningful relationships and authentic connection in the virtual classroom. They come from the community building exercises we used during our three-day virtual New York Times Teaching Project summer institute . After several participants told us they planned to start the school year with some of these activities, we thought we should share them with all of our readers.

How are you planning to get to know your students while teaching remotely this school year? Let us know in the comments.

Please note: The activities we describe below were all conducted via Zoom , but many other video conferencing platforms have similar capabilities.

Activities:

Discussion starters.

• Flipgrid Introductions
• Human Bingo
• Write and Show
• What’s Going On in This Picture?
• Meditation and Mindfulness

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10 Powerful Community-Building Ideas

Strategies for ensuring that students in every grade feel like they’re part of the classroom community.

Teachers have long known that feeling safe and secure in school helps students focus their energy on learning. And the research bears that out: A 2018 study found that when teachers deliberately foster a sense of belonging by greeting each student at the door of the class, they see “significant improvements in academic engaged time and reductions in disruptive behavior.”

Edutopia already covered that study , and we’ve shared many other ideas from teachers for ensuring that every student in the classroom feels like they belong.

Some of the activities below take less than five minutes. They’re divided up among the grades, but many can apply across all of the years from kindergarten to 12th grade.

Elementary School

Shout-Outs: This is a quick way for students to celebrate each other for doing a job well or for attempting something difficult. Shout-outs can be incorporated at any point in a class. First-grade teacher Valerie Gallagher of Providence, Rhode Island, rings a chime when she wants to get the class’s attention to ask who has a shout-out.

“It’s not just me as the teacher saying, ‘You’re doing well’—it’s a way for them to interact with each other and celebrate positivity,” says Gallagher.

Friendly Fridays: Elizabeth Peterson, a fourth-grade teacher in Amesbury, Massachusetts, uses Friendly Fridays as a simple way for students to lift each other and themselves up. Peterson has her students write a friendly, anonymous note to a classmate, practice using positive self-talk, or use storytelling to give a peer a pep talk.

Sharing Acts of Kindness: Fifth-grade teacher Marissa King, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, shares two activities that encourage kindness . In the first, the teacher gives students secret kindness instructions, such as writing an anonymous note to a peer who is struggling in one of their classes.

The second activity revolves around noticing others’ acts of kindness: When a student sees a peer tidying up in the classroom, for example, they can post a thank you note on a shared digital “kindness wall.” Both activities coach students to be kind to their peers in the hope that they’ll begin to practice kindness unprompted.

Middle School

Paper Tweets: To build community in her seventh-grade classroom, Jill Fletcher of Kapolei Middle School in Kapolei, Hawaii, created a bulletin board modeled on Twitter . Students use a template to create a profile, and they enlist at least three followers—a friend, an acquaintance, and someone they don’t interact with much.

When the class does this activity—which takes about 45 minutes to set up the first time—Fletcher has them respond to prompts about their current mood or new things happening in their lives, and then their followers respond.

Class Norms: Bobby Shaddox, a seventh-grade social studies teacher at King Middle School in Portland, Maine, has his students develop a set of norms for themselves—adjectives that describe them as a community of learners. Having students come up with their own norms creates “a pathway toward belonging for every single student in that class,” says Dr. Pamela Cantor, founder of Turnaround for Children.

“Instead of a top-down list of rules that a teacher gives a class, these are words that we generated together,” says Shaddox. “It helps us own the behavior in the classroom.”

Group Salutes: A moment shared between two or more students at the beginning or end of an activity, a Group Salute is a teacher-prompted interaction that is a quick, low-prep way to cultivate community. The shared gesture can be physical—like a high five—or social—a teacher could ask students to express gratitude to their group members.

There’s some interesting data supporting this idea: Researchers found that NBA teams whose players touch the most early in the season—high fives, fist bumps, etc.—had the best records later for the season.

High School

Morning Meetings: Morning meetings have long been a staple of elementary classrooms, but they can help students in all grades transition into class. Riverside School, a pre-K to 12th-grade school in Ahmedabad, India, uses a version of morning meetings at every grade level as “a pure relationship-building time.” Bonding exercises led by teachers or students include physical or social and emotional activities, or discussions of sensitive topics like bullying.

Appreciation, Apology, Aha: As a quick, daily closing activity, students gather in a circle and share an appreciation of one of their peers, an apology, or a light bulb moment. The teacher models the activity by sharing and then asks for volunteers to speak.

“Those types of appreciations and community recognitions can go a long way toward building bonds,” explains Aukeem Ballard, an educator with Summit Public Schools in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Rose and Thorn: At the start of class, the teacher and students take turns sharing one rose (something positive) and one thorn (something negative) each . The process takes about five minutes.

“A low-stakes thorn might be ‘I feel tired.’ Yet many students choose to share more personal items, like ‘My thorn is that my dog is sick and I’m really worried about her,’” writes Alex Shevrin Venet, a former school leader at a trauma-informed high school.

Snowball Toss: Students anonymously write down one of their stressors on a piece of paper, crumple it up, gather in a circle, and throw their paper balls in a mock snowball fight. When that’s done, they pick up a snowball and read it aloud.

“The idea is that we’re moving around. We’re able to have fun, laugh, scream, be loud, and then have that discussion about stress,” says Marcus Moore, an advisory leader at Urban Prep School in Chicago.

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8 Fun Classroom Culture-Building Activities

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Teachers have a long to-do list between lesson plans, preparing students for state exams, and classroom management. Because of their hectic schedules, cultivating community is often put on the back burner, despite being one of their most crucial responsibilities.

Determining how to implement classroom culture-building activities can overwhelm even the best educators. However, every teacher knows that community fosters academic progress, teamwork, and good behavior.

Since schools reopened following the height of the pandemic, it’s become increasingly important that teachers focus on social engagement. One study shows that the abrupt transition to online learning caused a 72% decline in lecture engagement and attendance, ultimately hindering students’ academic performance. 

Educators might want to try the following eight classroom culture-building activities, primarily for elementary school-age students.  

1. Share Fun Facts

Students at any grade level will benefit from this fun fact-sharing activity.

Ask students to write down facts about themselves on a note card and put them in a container, such as a jar, box, or bowl.

Pull cards randomly throughout the year and share your students’ fun facts with the class. 

2. Practice Gratitude

Gratitude is a practice that makes everyone feel more connected — and there are many ways elementary school teachers can introduce gratitude to young students. 

For instance, you can create a chart with gratitude prompts in individual colors. An example might be “Name a person you’re thankful for” in red or “Name a food you’re thankful for” in blue. 

Students can then choose colored sticks or straws and share what they’re grateful for based on the corresponding prompt. You can have students share in front of the whole class or pair them up with one of their peers for this activity.

Middle school and high school teachers might choose to have their students keep a gratitude journal instead. 

3. Create Kindness Chains

Add a pop of color to your classroom by having students make kindness chains. 

Hang letters from the word “kindness” on your class bulletin board or wall. Then, print and cut “caught being kind” strips on different colored paper and keep them on hand when someone does something nice. 

Your students can then come to you when their peers demonstrate an act of kindness. Write down what they did and add the new link to the “kind” student’s chain. 

Eventually, the entire class will catch on, and other students will also feel encouraged to do nice things for their classmates.

4. Conduct Weekly Class Meetings

Keep your students up to date on what’s happening in the classroom. Weekly class meetings don’t need to be lengthy — just long enough to go through upcoming assignments, reminders, and shares.

Class meetings could also be an appropriate time to give shout-outs to individual students for good behavior or achievements.

5. Cultivate Teamwork Toward a Goal

Kids love rewards for a job well done. Educators can cultivate teamwork and build community toward a common goal, such as extra time at recess or a pizza party.

Track students’ behavior on a board so everyone can see the progress — your students will likely feel more driven to achieve the class goal.

Showing an approved film adaptation of a reading assignment or classroom unit may be an excellent option for a reward. Movies can also help visual learners process information from the lessons. 

6. Pair Students Up to Create Venn Diagrams

Your classroom is bustling with different personalities, which makes being a teacher so special.

There are bound to be introverted students in your class that find it challenging to engage with their peers. However, studies have marked the importance of social interaction in helping introverts build self-esteem.  

Make socializing less overwhelming for shy students by pairing them with one other person. Then have them work together on creating a Venn diagram, in which they can jot down their differences and similarities — such as likes, dislikes, and how many siblings they have.

7. Construct a Shout-Out Wall

Like kindness chains, shout-out walls are perfect for adding craftiness and color to your classroom. It’s also great to boost your students’ confidence by sharing their achievements.

Write down something positive your students did on a Post-It note. You might have something you want to highlight, or students might ask you to write something for their peers. 

Shout-out walls are one of the best classroom culture-building activities for fostering friendships throughout the school year.

8. Give Your Students a Voice

One should never underestimate the importance of giving students a voice. By encouraging them to share their opinions, concerns, and suggestions, you offer them autonomy over their educational experience. 

Research has shown that students who express themselves through student voice activities demonstrate higher confidence and proficiencies , are free thinkers, and have better leadership skills.

Consider passing out note cards to students to offer feedback. Have each note say, “I wish my teacher knew…” and allow the students to finish filling them out. Maybe their message could be about a subject they’re struggling with, a fun fact about themselves, a lesson or activity idea, or if they’re having problems with a classmate.

Use your discretion on whether to share the note with the class or respond privately to the student.

Foster Community in the Classroom

There’s an endless supply of classroom culture-building activities teachers might want to try with their students. It could require a bit of creativity, but fostering community will make the classroom a happier, more productive place to learn.

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6 Activities to Build a Positive Classroom Culture

Every school is unique and has its own demographics and issues. Every learner comes to school with their strengths, challenges, background, and concerns.  In fact, each class is unique because of the teacher and how they present what it means to be part of the class. One way to build the culture is to start the year by getting to know each other. The time you spend building a strong classroom culture in the first few weeks of school will bring amazing returns every day of the year.   You can build a compassionate classroom and place relationships at the center of the classroom that are based on trust and respect. Relationships matter! So how do you build trust and a caring classroom?

Our first questions should be, “What do children need?”… followed immediately by “How can we meet those needs?” Alfie Kohn

Culture Building Activities

Here are a few culture building activities for any age learners to build a positive classroom culture where they get to know and care about the teacher and each other. 

1. Welcome Message

What message does your classroom give right when people walk in? What about creating a welcome sign? The picture on the left has a message that you can make personal to represent the culture in your class. The welcome sign doesn’t have to be a sign; it can be a poster or a welcome mat. The idea is to make your classroom inviting to anyone who wants to learn or visit your class.

2. Special Greetings

Instead of jumping right into academics as soon as your learners come in the door, what about coming up with a special greeting just for your class? Some teachers even have special handshakes. You don’t have to memorize a special handshake for each learner, but please memorize their names. Find a way to make each learner unique and valued for who they are. Do some homework to find out something each learner is passionate about or some event they were involved in. When you greet each learner, look them in the eye, say their name, and mention something or ask a question about them, it makes a difference. I saw this video from the Atlanta Speech School on Facebook and felt it just had to be shared here also.

3. Morning Meetings

4. The Power of YET

5. Me Too Activity

6. Reflections

You may find that building a culture is bigger than just one classroom; it involves the whole school. Check out the resources put together by KnowledgeWorks to help you build a positive culture.

Back to School Culture

Download KnowledgeWorks  Get Ready: Back-to-School Culture Toolkit   to uncover insights from other district and school leaders on:

• How to engage parents, community members, and business leaders

• 5 goals to set for a strong school culture

• Tips for helping students develop critical social-emotional skills needed for the future workforce

• Guidance on aligning budget decisions to your learner-centered vision

Interested in checking out more of the Rethinking Learning podcasts and reflections, click on the podcast tab at the top, the logo below, or go to  https://barbarabray.net/podcasts/

For more information about Barbara’s book, Define Your WHY, go to  this page  or click on the image of the book for resources, questions, and links.

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Introducing TeachCatalystAI

TeachCatalystAI is a professional teaching assistant tool designed to help teachers create lesson plan, teaching materials, and many more with ease. Our AI-powered tool will help you streamline your classroom management, making it easier to keep track of students, assignments, and behavior. Our AI-powered tools and templates are great and configured to make you effective in teaching.

Building Classroom Culture Activities For Your Classroom

We all know that trying to create a positive classroom culture can sometimes feel like climbing up a mountain. I’ve walked in those shoes, and understand the importance of nurturing an educational environment where students thrive.

After tireless exploring, I’ve found some helpful techniques to make this process more manageable and less intimidating for you. This blog will become your go-to guide, offering 25 hands-on activities tailored explicitly for sparking engagement and interest in the classroom, along with essential considerations when choosing them.

So let’s roll up our sleeves and create classrooms that are engaging worlds beyond mere four walls!

Key Takeaways

Importance of building classroom culture.

This promotes motivation and enhances their overall academic and social-emotional growth. Additionally, building strong relationships between students and teachers fosters trust , respect, and open communication.

These factors combined create a classroom culture that promotes collaboration, participation, and success for all students.

Creates a positive and inclusive learning environment

Students with different backgrounds, talents, and ways of doing things add to the class mix. We respect each other’s thoughts and feelings here. No one laughs at another student’s answer or idea.

Enhances student engagement and motivation

When we focus on building a positive classroom culture, it enhances student engagement and motivation. By creating a welcoming environment where every student feels valued and included, they become more invested in their learning.

When students feel motivated and engaged, they are more likely to actively participate in class discussions, collaborate with their peers, and take ownership of their learning journey.

Fosters strong relationships between students and teachers

This helps build trust and rapport, which is essential for effective teaching and learning. By forming these relationships, we can better understand our students’ needs, provide individualized support, and guide them toward academic success.

Promotes academic and social-emotional growth

By creating a sense of community and belonging,  classroom culture activities  foster strong relationships between students and teachers. This support system allows students to feel safe taking risks, asking questions, and exploring new ideas.

Additionally, a positive classroom culture encourages the development of important social-emotional skills. Students learn how to effectively communicate, collaborate with others, and manage their emotions.

Factors to Consider When Choosing Classroom Culture Activities

When selecting classroom culture activities, it’s important to consider factors such as age-appropriateness, alignment with learning goals, active student participation, variety and diversity of activities, and individual student needs.

Age appropriateness

When choosing classroom culture activities, it’s important to consider the age of your students. Different age groups have different interests and abilities, so you want to make sure the activities are appropriate for their developmental level.

For younger students, simple activities like creating art projects or playing cooperative games can be engaging and fun. Older students may enjoy more complex tasks such as group discussions or project-based learning.

Alignment with learning goals

This helps to increase their motivation and engagement in the activities. Additionally, aligning activities with learning goals ensures that students are developing the necessary skills and knowledge outlined in the curriculum.

Active student participation

By providing opportunities for students to contribute their ideas, ask questions, and collaborate with their peers, teachers can foster a positive and inclusive learning environment.

Additionally, active student participation promotes social-emotional growth by encouraging effective communication and teamwork skills. Students feel valued when their voices are heard and respected in the classroom community.

Variety and diversity of activities

Variety also keeps things fresh and exciting, preventing boredom or disengagement. Whether it’s group discussions, collaborative projects, hands-on experiments, or creative presentations, having a diverse set of activities ensures that every student has an opportunity to shine and contribute in their own unique way.

Consideration of individual student needs

By doing this, you can create a more inclusive and personalized learning environment that meets the diverse needs of your students. For example, if you have a student who prefers hands-on activities, you can incorporate more hands-on projects into your classroom culture activities.

25 Building Classroom Culture Activities

Don’t miss out on these exciting ideas! Read more to discover the power of building classroom culture.

Use surveys to check in with students

By involving students in the decision-making process and giving them a voice, it creates a sense of ownership in the classroom. This helps to foster a stronger teacher-student relationship and promotes a more inclusive learning environment.

Surveys also provide insights into student engagement and motivation levels, allowing teachers to tailor their instruction accordingly. Overall, utilizing surveys as part of classroom culture activities supports student-centered learning and enhances overall academic and social-emotional growth.

Utilize color psychology

Make learning meaningful.

To make learning meaningful for my students, I believe in connecting the content to their lives and interests. One way I do this is by using real-life examples and scenarios that they can relate to.

By doing this, it helps them see the relevance of what they’re learning and how it applies to their everyday lives.

Furthermore, incorporating hands-on activities and projects into my lessons also adds meaning to their learning experience. Allowing them to apply what they’ve learned in a practical way, reinforces their understanding and shows them how the concepts they are studying can be used in real-world situations.

Create memorable experiences

For example, teachers can plan field trips or hands-on activities that allow students to apply their knowledge in real-world contexts. This not only makes learning fun but also helps them remember the information better.

Additionally, incorporating technology such as virtual reality or interactive games can also create memorable experiences that pique students’ curiosity and make learning exciting.

Establish a class social media account

Additionally, having a class social media account encourages collaboration and creates a sense of community among students, as they can support and engage with each other’s posts. It offers a platform for student voice and choice, fostering active participation in the classroom culture.

Begin each day with an inspiring quote

Starting each day with an inspiring quote is a simple yet powerful way to build a positive classroom culture. It sets the tone for the day and sparks motivation and enthusiasm among students.

It also cultivates a sense of purpose and encourages students to think critically about important values and principles. By incorporating inspiring quotes into our daily routine, we can create an uplifting atmosphere where students feel encouraged and ready to learn.

Encourage collaborative learning

One way to encourage collaborative learning is by assigning group projects or activities where students have to work together towards a common goal. This not only helps them develop teamwork skills but also fosters a sense of community within the classroom.

Students can learn from each other’s strengths and contribute their own unique insights.

Foster co-creation

To foster  co-creation in the classroom , it’s important to provide opportunities for students to collaborate and actively participate in their learning. This can be done through group projects, discussions, and problem-solving activities that require teamwork and creativity.

Co-creation allows students to feel invested in their education and empowers them to take ownership of their learning journey. By involving students in the decision-making process and valuing their ideas and perspectives, teachers can create a collaborative classroom culture where everyone’s contributions are valued.

Set high expectations

Setting high expectations is crucial in building a positive classroom culture. When I have high expectations for my students, it shows them that I believe in their abilities and potential.

Celebrate achievements and growth

It is important to celebrate achievements and growth in the classroom as it helps boost students’ confidence and motivation. When we acknowledge their progress and accomplishments, it reinforces their belief in their abilities and encourages them to continue striving for success.

Share fun facts

Let’s have some fun in the classroom by sharing interesting and exciting facts! Did you know that honey never spoils? It can last for thousands of years without going bad. Isn’t that amazing? Sharing fun facts like this not only adds a sense of excitement to the learning environment but also sparks curiosity among students.

Practice gratitude

I believe that practicing gratitude is an important aspect of building classroom culture. By encouraging students to express gratitude for the things they have and the people in their lives, we can foster a positive and appreciative mindset within our classroom community.

When we practice gratitude, it helps us focus on the positives even during challenging times. It also teaches empathy and promotes a sense of interconnectedness among students. Research has shown that expressing gratitude can improve mental well-being and increase happiness levels.

Create kindness chains

Then, they connect their strip to another student’s strip, creating a chain of kind acts. This activity not only encourages reflection on positive behaviors, but also reinforces the idea that small acts of kindness can make a big difference in creating a supportive and caring classroom community.

It helps students recognize the impact they can have on others and fosters a sense of responsibility towards one another. By visually displaying these kindness chains in the classroom, students are reminded daily about the importance of treating each other with respect and kindness.

Conduct weekly class meetings

During these meetings, I encourage open dialogue and active participation from every student. It allows them to share their thoughts, concerns, and ideas with the rest of the class.

Cultivate teamwork toward a goal

To build a positive classroom culture, it’s important to cultivate teamwork towards a goal. When students work together as a team, they learn how to collaborate, problem-solve, and communicate effectively.

Additionally, teamwork promotes empathy and respect for others’ ideas and perspectives. By setting goals that can only be achieved through teamwork, students develop valuable skills such as leadership, cooperation, and compromise.

Assign students to create Venn diagrams together

One activity that can help build classroom culture is assigning students to create Venn diagrams together. This collaborative task encourages teamwork and communication among students.

Assigning group work like this helps foster a sense of community within the classroom, as students collaborate with their peers to complete the task successfully.

Construct a shout-out wall

One activity to build classroom culture is to construct a shout-out wall. This involves creating a designated space in the classroom where students can publicly acknowledge and appreciate their peers’ efforts, achievements, and positive behaviors.

Provide opportunities for student voice and choice

As a teacher, it’s important to provide opportunities for student voice and choice in the classroom. When students have the chance to express their opinions and make decisions about their learning, they become more engaged and motivated.

By giving them choices in topics, projects, or assignments, you can tap into their interests and help them take ownership of their education. Additionally, allowing students to share their thoughts and ideas helps build a sense of community and fosters strong relationships between students and teachers.

Foster a sense of community

Building a sense of community in the classroom is essential for creating a positive learning environment. When students feel connected to their classmates and teachers, they are more engaged and motivated to learn.

Incorporate project-based learning

I love incorporating project-based learning in my classroom because it helps students apply their knowledge and skills to real-world situations. Instead of just memorizing information, they get to actively explore, create, and problem-solve.

Promote peer mentoring

Peer mentoring is a valuable classroom culture activity that can benefit both the mentor and mentee. It involves pairing students together, with one student providing guidance and support to their peers.

By encouraging peer mentoring, teachers can empower students to take ownership of their learning and create a supportive community within the classroom.

Encourage reflection and self-assessment

Reflecting on their own learning and assessing their progress is an important skill for students to develop. By encouraging reflection and self-assessment in the classroom, teachers help students become more aware of their strengths and areas for improvement.

Implement cooperative games and activities

Cooperative games and activities are a great way to build classroom culture. When we play together, we learn to work as a team and support each other. This helps create a positive and inclusive learning environment where everyone feels included and valued.

Cooperative games also promote collaboration, communication, and problem-solving skills among students. By working together towards a common goal, students develop strong relationships with their peers and teachers.

– Students learn to trust each other and appreciate their unique strengths.

Establish classroom routines and rituals

By establishing these routines and rituals, you create consistency and build strong relationships with your students.

Encourage active listening and effective communication

Active listening and effective communication are essential skills that contribute to a positive classroom culture. When students actively listen, they pay attention to what others are saying and show respect for different perspectives.

By encouraging active listening and effective communication, we create an environment where everyone feels valued and heard, leading to better learning outcomes for all students.

Provide opportunities for leadership and responsibility

By empowering our students with leadership opportunities, we are preparing them for success in the future while creating a positive classroom culture where everyone feels valued and involved.

1. Why is building classroom culture important?

2. what are some activities for building a positive classroom culture, 3. how do i choose the best classroom culture activities.

When picking classroom culture activities, consider things like your students’ social-emotional needs, their motivation level, and the norms you want to establish.

4. Can establishing a positive classroom culture help with behavior management?

5. does creating an inclusive atmosphere relate to building a powerful classroom tradition.

Building a positive classroom culture is crucial because it creates a supportive and inclusive learning environment. Engaging in activities that promote collaboration, reflection, and community building can enhance student motivation, foster strong relationships, and promote academic and social-emotional growth.

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In this course students will critically analyze eras of history and focus on the culture of the times.  Students will progress through American History in an effort to determine how society reacted to events and how movies, fads, music, and culture impacted daily lives.  We will determine what pop culture is, why people care about it, and how it truly is a reflection of the values of society.

Units of Study Titles

What is Pop Culture?

Consumerism and Pop Culture

Movies and Pop Culture

TV Shows and Pop Culture

Pop Culture and Its Influence on Style

Music and Pop Culture

Life-Changing Events and Pop Culture

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5 team-building activities for high school students, by: vocab gal.

In this article, you'll discover how team-building activities benefit high school students, ways to ensure team-building activities will be successful, and a variety of classroom-tested activities. Plus, download free printable team-building activities that can be used at the start of a new school year or new semester!

Benefits of Team-Building Activities for Students

Many students might groan and roll their eyes if asked to participate in these activities, but they do have significant benefits. Furthermore, many teachers might be loath to take the time to conduct these activities, although they bring with them enormous gains. Benefits of team-building activities for students include:

Provide a common experience among peers

Allow students to feel more comfortable in group settings

Require students to develop communication skills through conversations

Encourage students to learn academic content with and from one another

5 Fun Team-Building Activities for Students  

It’s critical to help develop students’ social interaction skills, which can easily be done in the classroom through team-building activities. When team-building activities are used routinely in classrooms, the classroom space becomes a shared, safe zone where students feel comfortable and ready to learn. These short games not only allow students to gain valuable skills but also develop empathy and often improve their self-esteem. 

Most activities should only take between five and ten minutes and can be used once or on multiple occasions. Classroom time is valuable, and these activities are designed to minimize time and maximize outcomes.

Activity #1– Make a Burger

Class time: 5–10 minutes, group size: 5–7 students, resources needed: burger template cut out into pieces, tape, skills focus: teamwork, trust-building.

This is a rather quick and silly team-building activity for high school students. Instruct the class that they are to work in groups to make a full hamburger that starts with a bun, and that has pickle, lettuce, tomato, cheese, meat, and another bun in that order. Tape one ingredient onto each student’s back and instruct students to work together to find all the necessary ingredients and then line up in order. The first group to do so correctly wins.

You can either play silently, or you can tell students to say what ingredient is on their backs, but instead only provide hints.

Academic Focus: Replay this game using vocabulary words and definitions, planet names, math problems and solutions, and so on.

Activity #2– Vocab Improv

Group size: any range between five students and a full class, resources needed: list of academic vocabulary to use, example video, skills focus: trust building.

Have students stand in a circle. The first student chooses a subject-related word and acts out a motion that corresponds with the word’s meaning in some way. The rest of the students in the group then echo the word and the motion together. The next student in the group chooses a new word and acts out a corresponding motion. The rest of the students then echo that word and motion, followed by the first student’s word and motion. This sequence repeats until all students in the group have their own word and motion and have reiterated everyone else’s word and motion.

To begin the game, the first student says his/her word and motion and then says another student’s word and motion. That student must say his/her word and motion and pick another student’s word and motion.

The game repeats until a called-upon student cannot recall another’s word and motion fast enough (three seconds) and is “out.” When only two people are left, both are winners.

Caveat: no student can reiterate the previous student’s word and motion.

Academic Focus: By creating motions tied to academic vocabulary and reiterating these words and motions numerous times, students develop deep connections to these words.

Try playing this game throughout the year, and have students use their peers’ previous words and motions to call upon them, as well as current words and motions.

Activity #3– Best Parts of Our School

Class time: 5–20 minutes (each part of this activity can take place on a separate day), group size: 4–6 students, resources needed: best parts of our school handout, skills focus: teamwork, leadership.

Often, students feel disgruntled about school, so this team-building activity for high school students encourages everyone to look for the positive, rather than the negative.

First, each individual should complete the top of the handout, listing three specific aspects of the school they like. Then, assign students to groups of approximately four to six, making sure that students work with people they do not know well, rather than simply working with friends. Have the students each share three ideas in their groups, and then work together to choose which ones to include in a group list of five positive aspects about their school. Next, each group selects a representative to go to the board to write down his or her group’s list.

Finally, the representatives work with the whole class in order to combine the top five lists into one class-wide top ten list. Try to post this list so students remember both working together and the positive aspects of school!

Academic Focus: Ask students to use academic vocabulary in their lists or to utilize strong writing techniques, such as action verbs or figurative language, when creating each point.

Activity #4– Create a Vocabulary Game Board

Class time: 10–60 minutes (each part of this activity can take place on a separate day), group size: 2–3 students, resources needed: activity directions, game board instruction sheet, two game board templates, game piece template, blank game cards.

Students love to play board games, so asking them to design their own provides them with a new and exciting challenge. Have students work together, possibly by formatively assessing their understanding of a concept and then grouping them in high-medium-low understanding groups. Alternatively, grouping them in like-understanding (all highs, all mediums, all lows) partnerships can also allow for thoughtful outcomes.

Have students discuss and agree upon an overall theme for the game, then complete each aspect of the board game including:

Activity Directions

Game Board Instruction Sheet

Two Game Board Templates

Game Piece Template

Blank Game Cards

Academic Focus: Take any unit that needs further review or understanding and ask students to create a board game that highlights various aspects of the concept.

Activity #5– Your Enigmatic Self

Class time: 5 minutes (spread out over multiple days), group size: 3–4 students, resources needed: enigmatic self handout.

Students write down three aspects of themselves that no one else knows. Assign students to groups of three or four and ask them to read their information to each other.

Each day, have one member of the group read all of the group’s fact sheets to begin the class and have the rest of the students guess which group member is which. Have students celebrate one another’s unique selves, and make sure to reiterate the need to respect each other.

Academic focus: Encourage students to use academic vocabulary when describing themselves.

How to Ensure Team-Building Activities Are a Success

In order for activities to be successful, classroom leaders must establish clear expectations.

INSIST ON A SAFE ZONE The most important aspect of team-building activities is that they demonstrate that the classroom is a safe zone. When working through the team-building activities with students, I emphasize my number one rule, which is mutual respect and acceptance. Students must remain positive and respectful toward their fellow learners, and that includes me!

ESTABLISH TRUST TO BUILD COMMUNITY In a classroom, a sense of community is vital in order for students to produce authentic writing, receive constructive feedback from peers, and have meaningful discussions. Emphasizing in each activity the importance of trusting one another, classroom leaders build a sense of classroom community.

EMPHASIZE EMPATHY AND ESTEEM These team-building activities encourage students to empathize with their classmates who may be different from them and will also help to build up their own self-esteem as they work with others. Classroom leaders must stress the need for students to learn from one another and to respect the similarities and differences that all of their classmates bring to each activity.

ENCOURAGE LEARNING I always like to ensure that there is an academic purpose to all aspects of classroom activities, so, as a classroom leader, I ask students to use academic vocabulary and utilize their prior learned knowledge during discussions.

(SOMETIMES) FRAME AS A COMPETITION Finally, if a classroom leader faces significant resistance from students, framing the activity as a challenge or competition can motivate them. Do remember to emphasize that the competition or challenge being carried out can be completed by everyone and that respect and ethical behavior are paramount, as some students may attempt to cheat in order to win.

The Best Time to Use Team-Building Activities

Team-building activities can happen throughout the school year. They can be used for a myriad of reasons and for a multitude of purposes.

Some classroom leaders may want to use these activities at the beginning of the school year in order to establish a classroom culture and then continue to use activities once or twice a quarter to re-establish concepts, review learning, or deepen rapport.

Other teachers may use them later in the year or at the start of the second semester in order to re-focus a classroom or for a specific unit of study.

Alternatively, classroom leaders can employ team-building activities at the end of the year to encourage more authentic peer review for assignments or as a new challenge for students.

In Conclusion

Team-building is fun and has a huge number of benefits, from developing classroom community to reinforcing academic concepts. Each of the five team-building activities allows students to learn with and from each other and deepens connections between peers.

As students become more and more disconnected from their peers and their learning because they spend much of their time on social media, team-building activities are a great way to reconnect students to their school and to their education and to have fun while doing so.

Colorado High School Activities Association

General 8/29/2024 10:00:00 AM

CHSAA Warns of Social Media Phishing Scams

• Sport specific accounts on Twitter (@colohsfootball, @coloradohslax, @colohswrestling, @colohsvb, @colohssoftball, @colohshoops, @colohshockey, @colohsfh, @colohsbaseball, @chsaarpi, @chsaanow)
• CHSAA State Leadership Representatives (@chsaastatereps on Instagram)
• The Foundation for Colorado High School Activities (@FoundationCHSAA on Facebook and Instagram)

El Paso Matters

SISD’s $58.9M stadium hosts first game as high school football season kicks off

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Edward Cano has one enduring memory of Socorro High School that predates his arrival to the Lower Valley campus as its head football coach in December 2021. 

Cano was a wide receiver for Irvin High School in the late 1990s. His Rockets traveled to the Far Eastside to take the field against the Bulldogs who, at the time, were the four-time defending District 2-5A champions. The game, played Sept. 10, 1999, at the Socorro Independent School District Student Activities Complex, was a defensive slugfest that the Bulldogs won 10-0

The play Cano remembers is sobering. 

“I remember running across the middle on a broken play,” Cano recalled earlier this week during a morning football practice at Socorro High School. “I probably shouldn’t have been there, but I was just trying to get open for my quarterback.”

That’s when a Bulldog defender careened violently into Cano, sending him skittering across the grass field. The forceful collision wasn’t unexpected, Cano said.

“That aggressiveness was just the way Socorro competed back then,” he said. “Those guys had some extra oomph in them. They played with a lot of pride. The community had a lot of pride. And they liked to let it be known.”

That pride is something Cano is looking to re-instill in the Socorro program this season. The third-year coach gets his first chance at doing so Friday — Socorro will host Horizon High School at 6:30 p.m. in the inaugural game at the district’s Student Activities Complex II.

The Bulldogs haven’t had a winning season since 2002 and have gone winless in six of the last eight seasons, including during Cano’s first two campaigns. But, he said he is optimistic about his team’s chances this year as his program returns key players and seasoned contributors from the previous two seasons. Socorro is one of six SISD high schools (Americas, Eastlake, El Dorado, Montwood and Pebble Hills), who will play their home varsity games away from their campuses at either the original Student Activities Complex or SAC II.

The game between Socorro and Horizon marks a significant milestone for Socorro ISD. Officials say the christening of the district’s new $58.9 million facility highlights not only a new era in local sports but also a broader commitment to student and community engagement.

The SAC II, built as part of a 2017 voter-approved bond program, features a Hellas turf athletic field that sits within sleek, modern confines. District leaders say the stadium was designed to also serve a wide range of student needs across various disciplines including in fine arts and career and technical education. 

Friday night logistics

The new stadium, located next to the original SAC I, which opened in 1992, seats 6,500 and is equipped to handle large crowds with more than 2,100 parking spots. According to James Nunn, SISD’s director of athletics, the venue has been designed to create an intimate atmosphere for spectators, with the absence of a track bringing crowds closer to the action on the field. 

“It’s going to be a football, soccer facility. The lack of a track makes it a little more intimate,” Nunn said. The original SAC features a track.

Security remains a priority, Nunn said, particularly since the district will spend most Friday nights this season with games being played concurrently at SAC I and SAC II. Nunn said kickoff times will be staggered, with games typically starting at 6:30 p.m. in SAC II and at 7:30 p.m. in SAC I. For much of the past decade, SAC I would host two games each Friday with the first game kicking off at 4 p.m.

Nunn said the timing implemented this year allows for minimal disruptions to pre-game and halftime band performances in neighboring stadiums. It will also be conducive to traffic flow as spectators arriving for the earlier game will naturally fill in parking spaces on the eastern fringe of the complex where SAC II is located while fans arriving for the later game will find available spaces on the west edge near SAC I. To reach both stadiums, students and fans will be able to enter from Bob Hope Drive on the north end of the complex and from Southview Drive on the south end. 

Nunn added that 32 security guards and SISD police officers will patrol the grounds and assist with traffic control during games. First responders and emergency management vehicles will also be present. 

“We will have a fire truck on site, an ambulance every Friday, and fully functional emergency management,” Nunn added.

A vision beyond football

Beyond sports, SAC II is set to be a hub for various community events. The facility’s design and functionality can support student activities such as mariachi festivals, large soccer tournaments and band competitions. 

The stadium is also home to the district’s fine arts department. The south end of the facility features a kiln room, an instrument repair shop, music storage and conference rooms.

This approach aligns with the district’s broader mission to foster a well-rounded educational environment, said Enrique Herrera, assistant superintendent of schools.

“It’s an unbelievable experience for our community,” Herrera said. “At the end of the day, the ones that really benefit from it are the bands, the cheerleaders, the JROTCs, all of our kids. That’s at the forefront of everything that happens at both stadiums.”

Herrera has spent 25 years in public education, most of that time with SISD. He said providing opportunities and venues for students to engage in extracurricular activities is a boon for all campuses.

“I always tell people about fine arts and sports, these are the best mentorship programs for any campus,” Herrera said. “If you have high numbers in the band, that means you have great kids in the halls. If you have high numbers in athletics, that means that kids are passing their classes and being disciplined and doing what they need to do.” 

On game days, it will be students in audio-visual programs who man the stadium’s production room, handling in-game elements such as the clock, scoreboard animations and live feeds. Students who are part of the district’s high school criminal justice programs will also be at each stadium monitoring entry gates. 

“People forget that it’s our law enforcement kids that are running the gates, it’s our AV kids who are running the cameras,” Nunn said. “Student council and the band are down there on the field. So, it’s not just about football kids, it’s about all kids and their community. There’s a lot of those little things that made the way we built this stadium make sense.” 

Stadium arms race stalls

SISD’s new stadium was part of a $448.5 million bond measure in November 2017. The bond included three new campuses and a reconstructed flagship school along with SAC II. It was approved by 60% of voters. Since then, SISD opened Col. Ben Narbuth and Cactus Trails elementary schools. The rebuild of Socorro High School was completed in December 2023. 

The passage of the bond came amid the construction of a slew of multi-million-dollar high school stadiums throughout Texas. One of those, Legacy Stadium in Katy near Houston, served as a portion of the inspiration for the locale of SAC II. Legacy Stadium, which opened in 2017, has 12,000 seats and cost $70 million. It sits steps away from Rhodes Stadium, a Katy ISD facility that opened in 1981. Both sites are used to host football games today. 

“We took a tour of Katy ISD,” Nunn said. “Once they established that (stadiums side-by-side) could be done, the district decided to move ahead with it.”   

Other standalone high school stadiums have come at hefty price tags for taxpayers. In Allen, a $60 million, 18,000-seat stadium opened in 2012. In McKinney, another Dallas suburb less than 10 miles away from Allen, a nearly $70 million, 12,000-seat stadium opened in 2018.    

SISD’s 2017 bond was approved two years before the state Legislature signed several laws that impact how school districts draft ballot and proposition language for their bond elections. As part of those changes, districts must separate general purpose projects from special purpose projects and put them on the ballot separately. Special purposes, as defined by Chapter 45 of the Texas Education Code , include the construction, acquisition or equipping of facilities including any stadium with a seating capacity for more than 1,000 spectators.

The changes have stalled the pace of new football facilities being constructed throughout the state. Just this year, bond measures for athletics facilities upgrades have been rejected by voters in the Anna, Argyle, College Station and Mansfield school districts. Prosper ISD, which opened a $48 million stadium complex north of Dallas in 2019, saw its $94 million bond measure for a new football stadium rejected by voters in November 2023. 

“So when they (parents) see millions of dollars going to sports facilities or to things that are kind of less of a priority than academics, you’re seeing parents vote and say, ‘We’re just not going to say, ‘yes’ to that. We don’t need that stuff as much as we need to focus on educating students,” said Brendan Steinhauser, a political consulting strategist, in an interview with KXAS-NBC in Dallas-Fort Worth. 

The scrutiny of dueling athletics and academic priorities is exacerbated by the financial pressures faced by Texas public schools. The education advocacy organization Raise Your Hand Texas has highlighted the challenges of underfunding in the state’s education system. Despite federal stimulus funds providing temporary relief, the organization warns that the expiration of these funds in 2024 will exacerbate existing funding shortfalls. According to the organization, Texas currently ranks 42nd in the nation for per-student spending, trailing the national average by over $4,000 per student. Raise Your Hand Texas contends that the state’s basic allotment — the foundational component of public school funding — has not kept pace with inflation, putting further strain on school districts. 

Along with these factors, SISD is also contending with financial concerns. In June, the district’s school board approved a $479.6 million budget with a $22 million deficit for the 2024-25 school year. The budget represents a 19% decrease over the 2023-24 school year’s $594.5 million budget. The vote came on the heels of a tumultuous period for the district, which saw its superintendent leave for a since-rescinded position in Arizona and two school board members arrested for charges that appear to be related to their official duties.  

‘We’re excited, man’

For his part, Cano is focused on ensuring his Bulldogs are prepared to have success on the field. Socorro will have four preseason games before entering District 1-6A play against Eastwood on Sept. 27. Before that, Cano is thrilled about the prospect of starting the season on a high note. 

“We’re excited, man, super excited,” he said. “I think the kids are pumped about having that opportunity. They’re kind of seeing, ‘Hey, you know, they want us in the spotlight.’ I think for a long time, these kids felt a little on the outside. Hopefully, our kids come out with some confidence.”

One of those kids is Antonio Montes. 

The Socorro High School junior will lead the Bulldog football team’s offense as one part of a two-pronged quarterback attack. Montes, who enters his third varsity season Friday, said it means a lot to him to be part of the team that will open the new facility. He said the support he and his teammates receive from the community is immense and serves as a source of pride. 

The team has the additional task of representing their fellow students well as it is homecoming week. Despite the anticipation surrounding the milestone moment, the soft-spoken Montes puts the approach simply.

“The coaches set up the game plan, we just have to execute,” he said. “It’s going to be business as usual.”

Nunn is familiar with that sentiment. The Montwood High School graduate played in the inaugural game Sept. 25, 1992, at the original Student Activities Complex. Nunn’s Rams topped Socorro 31-12 in front of 10,000 people. He said playing in that game and following it up by being part of the opening of a new stadium nearby is momentous.

“Everybody in El Paso has a favorite moment at the SAC,” he said. “That’s what we’re hoping to give to the future. Thirty-two years ago, I played in the stadium next door. All these years later, I would’ve never thought that I would be here in this capacity to see this stadium open. The idea that there’s going to be a kid walking down that tunnel, that 32 years from now, who knows what’s in their future because of what this facility gave to them.”

High school football schedules: Week 1 All games begin at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30, unless otherwise noted. • Horizon at Socorro at SAC II, 6:30 p.m. • Burges at Bowie • Austin at El Paso  • Jefferson at Fabens • Irvin at Hanks • Ysleta at Parkland • Riverside at Big Spring • Andrews at Clint • Anthony at San Elizario • Chapin at Franklin, 7:30 p.m. • Pebble Hills at Canutillo • Montwood at Del Valle • Andress at El Dorado at SAC I, 7:30 p.m. • Americas at Coronado, 7:30 p.m. • Eastwood at St. John Bosco (Bellflower, California) • Eastlake at Bel Air • Cathedral vs. Rocksprings at Junction (Texas) High School To see more high school football schedules by district, click below: • El Paso ISD •  Ysleta ISD • Socorro ISD • Anthony ISD • Canutillo ISD • Clint ISD • Fabens ISD • San Elizario ISD • Tornillo ISD

Pablo Villa

Pablo Villa is assistant editor of El Paso Matters. An El Paso native, he returned to journalism after working in public relations in the education sector, which included stints at El Paso ISD, UTEP and... More by Pablo Villa

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by Pablo Villa, El Paso Matters August 30, 2024

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8 Students From Waverly High School Join Cleanroom Microfluidics Lab Today

Mar 27, 2024, 7:07 PM

How differences in designs can alter the behavior of the fluid? On Wednesday March 27, VINSE welcomed 8 students from Waverly High School to our Cleanroom Microfluidics Lab. They went inside the VINSE cleanroom, home of the cleanest air in middle Tennessee, and found out with hands-on activities! The students stenciled with light to pattern a mold for hair-thin pipes, put together flexible pipes to make microfluidic devices, and examined how liquid in the devices flows using the same tools and techniques as industry and academic researchers. They also designed, made, and tested their own custom paper microfluidic devices.

Special thanks to VINSE NanoGuides TuanKhai Nguyen, Chris Boyd, Alexandria Carter, Haley Dishman, for making this event engaging!

If your school is interested in this hands-on learning opportunity, please contact [email protected] for more information.

Explore Story Topics

• Alexandria Carter
• Haley Dishman
• TuanKhai Nguyen
• VINSE Outreach

THE 10 BEST Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Tours & Excursions

Nizhny novgorod oblast tours.

• Sightseeing Tours
• 5.0 of 5 bubbles
• 4.0 of 5 bubbles & up
• Good for Kids
• Good for a Rainy Day
• Good for Big Groups
• Budget-friendly
• Hidden Gems
• Good for Couples
• Adventurous
• Honeymoon spot
• Good for Adrenaline Seekers
• Things to do ranked using Tripadvisor data including reviews, ratings, number of page views, and user location.

1. Volga-Flot Tour

2. Neskuchny Nizhniy

3. Khokhloma

4. Walks on the Boat in Nizhny Novgorod

5. Team Gorky

7. Farolero Nizhny Novgorod

9. Tvoy Gid

10. Rope Park Height

11. Boat Trip On The Sfortsando Yacht

12. Akvatoria

13. Bike-Taxi

14. Crazy Party Bus

15. City Pub Crawl Nizhny Novgorod

16. Horse Riding Club Tsentavr

17. Nizhegorod InTur

18. Romanova Travel

19. Nizhny Novgorod Aeroclub Named After P. I. Baranov/Aerodom Extreme Club

20. Ekaterina Smirnova

21. kazakovo enterprise of art products.

22. Diving Freedom

24. sequoia park, 25. mir priklyucheniy.

27. Tatiana Baibikova

APA Style for beginners

Then check out some frequently asked questions:

What is APA Style?

Why use apa style in high school, how do i get started with apa style, what apa style products are available, your help wanted.

APA Style is the most common writing style used in college and career. Its purpose is to promote excellence in communication by helping writers create clear, precise, and inclusive sentences with a straightforward scholarly tone. It addresses areas of writing such as how to

• format a paper so it looks professional;
• credit other people’s words and ideas via citations and references to avoid plagiarism; and
• describe other people with dignity and respect using inclusive, bias-free language.

APA Style is primarily used in the behavioral sciences, which are subjects related to people, such as psychology, education, and nursing. It is also used by students in business, engineering, communications, and other classes. Students use it to write academic essays and research papers in high school and college, and professionals use it to conduct, report, and publish scientific research .

High school students need to learn how to write concisely, precisely, and inclusively so that they are best prepared for college and career. Here are some of the reasons educators have chosen APA Style:

• APA Style is the style of choice for the AP Capstone program, the fastest growing AP course, which requires students to conduct and report independent research.
• APA Style helps students craft written responses on standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT because it teaches students to use a direct and professional tone while avoiding redundancy and flowery language.
• Most college students choose majors that require APA Style or allow APA Style as an option. It can be overwhelming to learn APA Style all at once during the first years of college; starting APA Style instruction in high school sets students up for success.

High school students may also be interested in the TOPSS Competition for High School Psychology Students , an annual competition from the APA Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools for high school students to create a short video demonstrating how a psychological topic has the potential to benefit their school and/or local community and improve people’s lives.

Most people are first introduced to APA Style by reading works written in APA Style. The following guides will help with that:

Many people also write research papers or academic essays in APA Style. The following resources will help with that:

Instructors will also benefit from using the following APA Style resources:

In addition to all the free resources on this website, APA publishes several products that provide comprehensive information about APA Style:

The APA Style team is interested in developing additional resources appropriate for a beginner audience. If you have resources you would like to share, or feedback on this topic, please contact the APA Style team . 

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Apa style monthly.

Subscribe to the APA Style Monthly newsletter to get tips, updates, and resources delivered directly to your inbox.

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THE 30 BEST Things to Do in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia

Places to Visit in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast

Explore popular experiences, popular cities in nizhny novgorod oblast.

Top Attractions in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast

What travellers are saying

• SI SWIMSUIT
• SI SPORTSBOOK
• BOYS BASKETBALL
• GIRLS BASKETBALL
• GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

50 can’t-miss games in Oregon high school football in 2024 (Nos. 10-1)

René ferrán | 12 hours ago.

The Oregon high school football season kicks off this week, and we’re counting down our annual list of the top 50 games on the schedule. Here is Part 5 of that list. 

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

After you see our choices, feel free to let us know which games you’re most excited to see in 2024. 

EARLIER: 200 OREGON HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2024

Note: All games 7 p.m. unless noted

FIND YOUR SCHOOL’S COMPLETE SCHEDULE

10. Lakeridge at Lake Oswego, Nov. 1

The Battle of the Lake has turned in the Pacers’ favor the past two years after the Lakers won 22 of the previous 25 meetings, leaving Lake Oswego with a narrow 26-24 lead in the series.

9. Silverton at Canby, Oct. 25

After reconfiguration moved three Portland-area schools to 5A, the OSAA added a fifth 5A district that includes three of the top teams in the classification. That brings us a fabulous Week 8 matchup between the Foxes and Cougars that should help decide the inaugural league champion.

8. Pendleton at Baker, Oct. 4

Last year, the Bulldogs completed their turnaround from an 0-4 start to Greater Oregon League champions by defeating their I-84 rivals. This time, the Buckaroos travel up Deadman Pass to open GOL play seeking revenge.

7. Canby at Wilsonville, Oct. 10

The schools sit on opposite sides of the Willamette River, connected by the historic Canby Ferry, but they didn’t meet until 2020, when the Cougars dropped from the 6A Three Rivers League to the 5A Northwest Oregon Conference. They’ve both moved to the new 5A-Special District 2, and their Thursday night matchup at Randall Stadium will be a doozy.

6. Mountainside at Jesuit, Oct. 18

The past two seasons, this matchup has decided the Metro League crown, with the Crusaders winning each to extend their streak of league championships to double digits. In his second season as head coach at Mountainside, can Keanon Lowe lead the Mavericks to victory against his alma mater, end Jesuit’s league win streak (currently at 19) and secure the program’s first league title?

5. Oregon City at Jesuit, Sept. 20

It could be a celebratory night at Cronin Field. Crusaders coach Ken Potter enters the season one win shy of the state wins record . The Week 3 matchup with the Pioneers is Jesuit’s home opener, and Potter might already have the record — or he could tie or break the mark this night.

4. Tualatin at Lakeridge, Oct. 18

Count on the scoreboard operators having to ice their index fingers after this game featuring Timberwolves quarterback Nolan Keeney and Pacers running back Ansu Sanoe. If recent history holds, Tualatin — winner of the past eight meetings — should come out on top.

3. Wilsonville at Silverton, Oct. 18

Amazingly, these 5A powers have met only once since Wilsonville opened its doors in 1995 — the Wildcats beat the Foxes 39-26 in the 2022 quarterfinals — but now that the OSAA has placed them in the newly created 5A-Special District 2, this matchup at McGinnis Field figures to be the 5A game of the year.

2. West Linn at Lakeridge, Oct. 11

Several of the state’s top recruits, including Lions tight end Baron Naone and Pacers running back Ansu Sanoe, will be on display. West Linn has won 19 of the past 20 meetings, including the past 12. 

1. West Linn at Tualatin, Oct. 25

This showdown between the three-time defending Three Rivers League champion (and 2022 state champion) Lions and the Timberwolves (6A runner-up in 2021 and 2023) will feature several of the state’s top recruits and will have massive playoff implications — the TRL champion has been the 6A No. 1 seed in every postseason since 2016. 

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RENÉ FERRÁN

• KSAT Insider
• KSAT Connect
• Entertainment

Honor history, culture of San Antonio Missions during the World Heritage Festival in September

The festival is from sept. 5 to sept. 8.

Andrea K. Moreno , News Trainee

SAN ANTONIO – Celebrate and honor the history and culture of San Antonio during the ninth annual World Heritage Festival in September.

The celebrations will feature different daily events at each of the San Antonio Missions to highlight their history, from Sept. 5 to Sept. 8.

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“The World Heritage Festival is a wonderful celebration of San Antonio’s shared history, culture, and unique legacy,” District 3 Councilmember Phyllis Viagran said. “It is a time to come together as a community and honor the rich heritage of San Antonio, recognizing its significant impact on our city.”

Most tours last about 45 minutes to an hour.

Here’s a list of scheduled events for the festival:

Thursday, Sept. 5

• National Park Rangers will present the We’re Still Here tour at 10 a.m. at Mission San Juan, located at 9101 Graf Rd. The tour will teach participants the history of the mission.
• Rangers will then present Nopal y Tú: The Tour at 1 p.m. at Mission San Juan. This tour will include a visit to the historic demonstration farm, highlighting sustainable farming practices that continue to nourish the city, along with an acequia demonstration.
• The Vision of History will be at 6 p.m. at The Alamo. This experience will provide an inside look at Mission San Antonio de Valero, demonstrating the structures and frescoes that shape the site. Registration is encouraged. More information can be found here .

Friday, Sept. 6

• National Park Rangers will lead the We’re Still Here tour to teach the history of Mission San José at 10 a.m. The mission is located at 6701 San José Dr.
• To learn about the history of Mission Espada, the We’re Still Here tour will start at 11 a.m. Mission Espada is located at 10040 Espada Rd.
• A Gold Star Family and Veterans Appreciation event will be led by rangers from the U.S. National Park Service from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Mission San José. Veterans and Gold Star families will receive a free lifetime federal public lands access pass, allowing entry to all U.S. National Parks. Active-duty service members are welcome and may also be eligible to receive a pass.
• End the day with music, food, and a movie at 6:30 p.m. at Mission Marquee Plaza, located at 3100 Roosevelt Ave. The mission will screen “Captain America: The First Avenger” and will feature military historians and veterans teaching about the city’s military history.

Saturday, Sept. 7

• Start the day early with a bike ride or a 5K and 10K walk during the Tour de las Misiones from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mission Park Pavilion, located at 6030 Padre Dr. The bike ride will range from 7 to 22 miles, with stops at one or all missions. Guests can also participate in a 5K or 10K run through the Mission River Reach and Mission San José. Registration is required for this event.
• Later in the morning, Junior Ranger Day will feature family activities from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Mission San Juan.
• The We’re Still Here tour is scheduled for 10 a.m. to explore the history of Mission San José.

Sunday, Sept. 8

• Las Misiones will present El Camino de San Antonio: Caring for Creation Mass and Walk at 8 a.m. at Mission Espada. This event will feature an outdoor Mass and invite participants to walk from Mission Espada to Mission San Juan Capistrano along the San Antonio River Trail.
• National Park Rangers will conclude the celebration with the It’s Still Here tour, a journey through the site at 10 a.m. at Rancho de las Cabras, located at 375 County Rd, about 45 miles south of San Antonio in Floresville. This is the world’s only Spanish Colonial ranching site, according to the World Heritage Festival website. Reservations are required. To register, email [email protected] .

For more information on the World Heritage Festival, click here .

Copyright 2024 by KSAT - All rights reserved.

About the Author

Andrea k. moreno.

Andrea K. Moreno is a News Trainee at KSAT. She graduated from Texas State University with an electronic media degree and a minor in psychology. She also attended San Antonio College, where she held several positions at The Ranger, now known as The Sundial, for three years.