Where are You From?

Some of my classes have been very diverse and I love celebrating this diversity. First, each student creates a "paper doll" to represent him/herself. They use multicultural cutouts and scrapbook paper with various patterns to create clothes. These creations are hung on a bulletin board surrounding a map of the world. Next each student is assigned a week to present a report on their country of origin. They are given questions to report orally such as the population, climate, etc. They are also asked to bring/demonstrate  anything that would represent their country. In the past this has ranged from a flag, music, carnival costume, ethnic food, traditional clothing, a dance, etc. The students had a lot of fun with these projects and learned a lot too. I always go first to set the tone and expectations. After presenting their project the students put a push pin in the map to show what part of the world their families originated from. (This was done with a third grade class but could be adjusted for any grade level.)