Shaping a Multicultural Art Project

Creating a Curriculum and Its Justification

TITLE: "Hawaii: A Melting Pot of Many Cultures"

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Students will be asked to focus on Hawaii. Special attention will be given to understanding that Hawaii although an American state serves as a melting pot of many cultures. Students will be encouraged to consider its native Polynesian roots as well as American, Japanese and European influences. As a group project, students will be asked to build a model environment of Hawaii. This will require organization since students will be divided into separate groups which focus on different aspects of Hawaii's environment and culture. As an art project, students will be asked to concentrate on model-building tasks. At the center of the island display the entire class will participate in building a volcano and then, almost magically, watching its lava flow. Collectively, the group will create a mini-version of the main island of Hawaii. (See details below.)

CORE SUBJECTS TO BE INTEGRATED WITHIN THIS LESSON: Art; Science; Health; Music; Agricultural Science; Geography; Environmental Science; and Dance.

MULTICULTURAL COMPONENT OF PROJECT: Any project which helps students to visualize a culture distinctive from their own can produce strong results. Choosing Hawaii as the civilization to be studied allows fifth graders to see how American culture itself is made up of many