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DiverseCity

Many regions around the world are ethnically diverse. Students will explore the benefits of living in a diverse environment and create a mobile that depicts a city and its inhabitants.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Heavy Paper
  • Hole Punch
  • String

Steps

  • Step 1

    Diversity encompasses the differences in backgrounds and cultures between people including race, ethnicity, gender, and other attributes. Have a discussion about how diversity positively affects a community. For example, it promotes a better understanding of others and an opportunity to learn about different cultures. It also sparks greater creativity and innovation and can drive change and inspiration across industries. Ask students to investigate some of the most diverse cities around the world. These would include Miami, Florida; Toronto, Canada; Sydney, Australia; New York, New York, San Francisco, California, and others.

  • Step 2

    Have students form small groups. Ask them to choose one of the cities they researched and look up the demographics of the population. For example, San Francisco is home to people from Mexico, China, India, Hong Kong, El Salvador and several other countries as well as many African Americans and Native Americans.

  • Step 3

    Have each group create a mobile that reflects the population of the city they chose. They should collaboratively pick a symbol that represents the city, such as the maple leaf shown here that represents Toronto. They might pick a cable car for San Francisco or the iconic opera house for Sydney.

  • Step 4

    One person in the group will make the central symbol that will hold the mobile together. Other students will create the parts that hang from the mobile's center. Students will outline their parts, illustrate them, and then cut them from heavy paper. They can choose any images that represent the diverse populations in the city. They could create a variety of national flags or regionally popular foods associated with the groups who live there. Have them write the name and some background information about the people on the back of the mobile parts.

  • Step 5

    The students responsible for assembling the mobile will punch holes in the central image and in the tops of the pieces that will be hung. They will use various lengths of string or yarn to attach the pieces to the mobile. Each group will hang their mobile to celebrate diversity in cities around the world as their class DiverseCity exhibition.

Standards

SS: People, Places, and Environments: Draw upon experiences in neighborhoods, towns and cities, states and nations, as well as peoples and places distant and unfamiliar to explore geographic similarities and differences.

SEL: Social Awareness: Understand the perspectives of and strengths of others.

Adaptations

Encourage students to delve deeper into learning about the people in the region they chose. What are some of the languages spoken? What important days are acknowledged and celebrated?

Learn about the demographic makeup of your region. Invite someone who immigrated to the area to talk to the class about the transitions.