Our unit on diversity after the winter break helped us understand the importance of celebrating and embracing cultural diversity! Along with reading books about different celebrations and recognizing the important events in our calendar (including Black History month, Carnival, Mardi gras, Chinese New Year), we each chose some activities related to a particular part of the world.
This project is the Collaborative Totem Pole Painting & Teepee, where we learned about some North American traditions.
Students in our class each chose one spirit animal or First Nations image to paint. Following a “paint by colour” template, the children painted with traditional native American colours (black, red and blue) to form an image. Once each peer completed their image, we hung each canvas on top of each other to form a totem pole!
During this process, we learned the spelling and name of each colour used. Using thick and thin brushes, we used our fine motor skills to stay within the lines to form the picture. Additionally, we discussed spirit animals and traditional Native American symbols used within different tribes.
We watched videos and read books about how teepees are constructed and the symbols that each one is adorned with. We decided to collaborate as a class and construct our own teepee focusing primarily on the painting and decorating process of the teepee exterior.
This was a lot of fun and hands on learning! With lots of questions and ways to explore, we enjoyed learning about these different traditions.
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