Totem Poles to celebrate culture!

Hi Everyone!  Boy are the weeks flying by!  How many days are left for you? 

Don't ask me how many as I have no idea!  I actually don't start counting until I can count down with my fingers... this way I can maximize my learning time (hehe... how many of you just rolled your eyes ;)  Yeah, I'm one of those teachers!

 

I am SOOO excited to share with you a totally terrific totem pole project!  This is a project that my second graders are working on right now in correlation with our Social Studies unit (cultures and customs).

 

 

 

The children first had a homework assignment to discuss with mom/dad/family members what traditions, customs, uniqueness, and heritage they had as a part of their family. This created many interesting conversations at home!

 

They filled out this paper:

 

Click above to get a copy.

Then, the children took those ideas and transformed them into pictures to attach to their ToTeM PoLe! 

 

I had pictures of flags to represent their heritage and they created their own drawings.

 

 

 

We used the cardboard part of a paper towel roll as our base. They could trace a bird head and wings to glue onto the "totem." The pictures represented important things about themselves. Some people included: special meals with family, family trips, flags to represent where their ancestors are from, special collections, family traditions, etc.

 

 

I also had stickers and magazines our for the kids to use as their images too.

 

Once complete, they look so impressive!

 

 

Then the children chose the 4 most important items on their totem and wrote more information about those things on their "storyboard." The storyboard has a special place in the center where the totem pole is placed.

 

 

 

Click pic to get a copy!

 

Finally, the children were able to share their project with the class and we will be placing them on display in the hallway for all to see. It was a great way to culminate our culture unit in a UNIQUE way!

 

 

 

Also, during the unit I did THIS LESSON on cultures and languages.  It is a product I have in my TpT store.  It is a great way to have students experience what it would be like to travel to another country and they get to learn 9 new languages!

 

Make sure you head over to my FACEBOOK page and enter the quick giveaway that ends tonight! (Sunday night)

 

As always I LOVE your comments!!

Have a great week!