Communities in Virginia
Additional Activities

• Invite parents or guest speakers to share their own cultural background, traditions, and customs. (See Attachment A below.)
  
  
• Have a cultural diversity celebration.
  
  
• Help students find recipes from other ethnic cultures. If possible, prepare some of these dishes in class, or send recipes home with students for parent volunteers to prepare. Have an “International Buffet” day, and sample different ethnic dishes.
  
  
• Arrange a field trip for your class to an ethnic restaurant in the community.
  Have students share the information about different cultures in Virginia with other classes. Students may work in cooperative groups and create posters, dress up in clothing traditional to that culture, and make posters or skits to share information.

Attachment A: Suggestions for Guest Speakers

Suggestions for sharing your culture with our first graders:

1. Tell students what country you are from, and talk about your culture.
   
   
2. Help us locate your country on the world map. Tell us some facts about your country. Name famous cities or famous things found in your country (e.g., Eiffel Tower in France). What language(s) is (are) spoken your country? What are some foods/dishes that are associated with your country? Are there American dishes that are similar in certain ways?
   
   
3. Describe why/how you moved to Virginia. Are there ways in which Virginia is the same as your native country? Explain. In what ways is Virginia different?
   
   
4. Describe a tradition/holiday you enjoyed in your homeland that you still celebrate/practice. Are there similar customs/traditions celebrated in Virginia as those in your country? Explain. What are the differences?
   
   
5. Show students any traditional clothing or other items from your culture (e.g., books, pictures, souvenirs, crafts).