Cultural Identities

Courses

Workshops

Training

Webinars

Perpich Center for Arts Education: Artful Online

Home > Perpich Center for Arts Education: Artful Online > Artful Tools > Artful Lessons > Cultural Identities

Cultural Identities

Big Idea: Students will understand that art (particularly visual art, dance, music) is way to communicate the customs, beliefs and emotions of a culture.

Inquiry Questions:

—How can we better understand world cultures and our own cultural identities through the arts?

—How can we use reflective tools and guided discussions to further our learning process?

—How do we use the arts to surface multiple perspectives, hidden assumptions, hidden bias, and critical questions?

—How do we learn about others' perspectives?

—What is the value of deferring judgment? Of taking a neutral stance?

—What do we mean by the word “culture” or “cultural” (and related vocabulary)?

—What do we need to know about world geography in order to understand where and how people live?

—How much can we learn about someone else’s culture? Why does it matter to learn about cultures other than our own?

Learning Goals:

—The student will name his or her cultural beliefs, norms, values.

—Each student develops a broader vocabulary to describe aspects of culture.

—The student will be able to locate and identify continents on a world map.

—The student will practice analytical techniques used in constructed response (using various reflective protocols) by looking at and experiencing various art resources.

—Students will develop a deeper sense of community by articulating their own cultural identities and sharing those with each other.

—Each student will identify a cultural group or region that he or she would like to explore further.

Evidence of Learning:

—Each student’s written worksheet is complete and includes correct use of cultural vocabulary (“tradition” “belief” “indigenous” “ancestry” etc.); each student contributes to the group identity map circles.

—Each student correctly identifies world continents and major geographic locations (oceans, equator, etc.) in class and on a written quiz.

—A student is able to support his or her responses with evidence and details in the art form. Student produces written evidence documenting conclusions or ideas.

—Class discussions are student-centered; students assist, support and encourage each other in their responses. Students raise open-ended questions; they respond to each other by referencing previous remarks and building on each other’s ideas. Students want to know more about each other.

—Each student identifies and researches a culture or region of his or her own choice and shares findings/discoveries with the rest of the class.