Thematic Units CELEBRATING. A Study Guide for CULTURAL DIVERSITY. Michael Golden. LEARNING LINKS P.O. Box 326 Cranbury, NJ 08512

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1 Thematic Units A Study Guide for CELEBRATING CULTURAL DIVERSITY Michael Golden LEARNING LINKS P.O. Box 326 Cranbury, NJ 08512

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS To the Teacher Rationale Historical Background Glossary Beginning the Unit Attitude Assessment Survey Genealogy: Finding Our Roots The Immigrant Experience: An Interview Multicultural Foodfest Foods From Other Lands The Minority Experience: Literature Making Choices A Minority of One The Language of Prejudice The Black Experience in America Words From Native Americans Minority Stars of Sports and Entertainment Famous American Immigrants Cloze Activity Holiday Word Code Multicultural Crossword Additional Activities Suggestions For Further Reading Answer Key Thematic-Units are printed on recycled paper. The purchase of this study guide entitles an individual teacher to reproduce pages for use in a classroom. Reproduction for use in an entire school or school system or for commercial use is prohibited. Beyond the classroom use by an individual teacher, reproduction, transmittal or retrieval of this work is prohibited without written permission from the publisher. Copyright 1991 by LEARNING LINKS

3 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND About thirty thousand years ago, Asian migrants began crossing a land bridge that existed between Siberia and Alaska and they became the first settlers in the New World. Over thousands of years these migrants fanned out across the two American continents, creating a great diversity of cultures and languages that we now refer to as Native American. The Europeans who came to the New World during the Age of Discovery after the voyages of Columbus brought with them a Eurocentric attitude a belief in the inherent superiority of their culture over the native groups they encountered. This European contempt for native cultures led to the conquest and sometimes the extermination of native groups, and was the basis for racist attitudes that have persisted to this day. The Europeans who came here during the colonial period were mostly from northern and western Europe. Religious differences, rather than national or cultural differences, caused social problems during this period. In 1820, the first year in which the national census included ethnic information, there were approximately 9.6 million people in the United States, about one fifth of them black and the rest mostly Protestants from northern and western Europe. Over the next four decades, approximately five million immigrants came to the United States. The largest wave of immigrants came to our country between 1880 and 1920, mostly from Italy, Russia, Poland and other countries in southern and eastern Europe. The majority of these immigrants were fleeing poverty and hunger; others sought to escape religious or political persecution. Many endured difficult conditions when they arrived: crowded, cold city tenements and long, hard hours of menial labor at low wages. By 1896, the number of immigrants from northern and western Europe was surpassed by the number of immigrants from the rest of Europe. These newer immigrants, with their language and cultural differences, were often lumped together and were frequently subjected to prejudice and discrimination. Approximately fourteen and a half million immigrants most of them poor and oppressed, the huddled masses arrived on American shores in the first two decades of this century. LEARNING LINKS 3

4 GLOSSARY anti-semitism assimilation culture discrimination emigrate ethnic group ethnocentrism immigrants Jim Crow laws melting-pot theory prejudice pluralism quotas racism refugees reverse discrimination Discrimination, persecution or prejudice against Jews. Adoption of the culture of the dominant group or the appearance of doing so. Customs, values, attitudes and beliefs shared by members of a group. Unequal and differential treatment of a group of people, usually along racial, ethnic or religious lines. Leave one country to settle in another. Group of people who share a common religion, nationality, culture and language. Tendency to judge other cultures or subcultures by the standards of one s own culture. People who come to a foreign country to live. Segregation laws passed in the 1890 s and early twentieth century in the Southern states covering the use of public facilities, such as schools, restaurants, parks, rest rooms and transportation. Concept that diverse groups would blend together and form a single, distinctive, assimilated American culture. System of negative beliefs regarding a certain group or groups of people. The idea that minority groups can maintain their distinctive subcultures while interacting with relative equality in the larger society. Limits placed on the number of people coming from specific countries. An ideology that links biological conditions of human groups with their sociocultural behaviors and capabilities; any program or practice of racial discrimination, persecution or segregation. People who have fled their homeland to escape religious, ethnic or political persecution, or as a result of wars or natural disasters. An action intended to overcome discrimination against one specific group which results in discrimination against another group. 8 LEARNING LINKS

5 scapegoating stereotype undocumented aliens values xenophobia Placing blame on a specific religious, ethnic or racial group for something that is not their fault. Generalization applied to a group, attributing certain characteristics or traits to all members of that group. People who come to a country without legal documents and permission. Shared general concepts regarding what is good, right, useful or desirable. Irrational fear of or contempt for foreigners or strangers. BEGINNING THE UNIT 1. Write the word culture on the chalkboard. Create a word map as students make associations with words and concepts related to their notion of culture. Discuss the various elements that constitute the concept of culture. 2. Have students research their own family histories and backgrounds. Students write their names on small slips of paper and, using push pins, mark their country (or countries) of origin on a large map of the world. Note the number of countries and continents with markers. 3. Divide the class into five groups. Assign each of the groups a different minority group to research (e.g., Hispanic-Americans, Asian-Americans, etc.) Students report to class on contributions each minority group has made to our culture. 4. Write the following quotation on the chalkboard: We like those who resemble us, and are engaged in the same pursuits. Aristotle Discuss this statement with the class. Do you agree or disagree? How does it relate to the development of prejudice? What can be done to overcome prejudice? What qualities do we look for in the friends that we choose? How do we relate to people who are different from us? 5. Do research on the history of Ellis Island. What role did Ellis Island play in the lives of immigrants who arrived there from other countries? If possible, take a class trip to Ellis Island. LEARNING LINKS 9

6 ATTITUDE ASSESSMENT SURVEY This is a questionnaire designed to determine attitudes toward specific minority groups. DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME ON THIS PAPER. Answer the questions as honestly as you can. Directions: In each column, write N for No, Y for Yes or NS for Not Sure as each statement applies to you in relation to the groups listed at the top of the chart. Statement Native Black Asian Hispanic Jewish American 1. I would want them to visit our country. 2. I would want them to live in our country. 3. I would want them to live in my neighborhood. 4. I would want them to live next door to me. 5. I would let them play at my house. 6. I would invite them to a party in my house. 7. I would invite them to dinner at my house. 8. I would invite them to sleep at my house. 9. I would eat out at a restaurant with them. 10. They could be close friends of mine. LEARNING LINKS 11

7 GENEALOGY: FINDING OUR ROOTS A genealogy, or family tree, traces family history through several generations. The tree below is a model for four generations of one family, beginning with you. Ask your family members for information about your own family. See if you can go back four generations. Each family member is represented by a number on the tree. Below the tree, try to fill in as much of the information about each family member as you can. Note: If you have more than one mother or father due to remarriage of a parent, you may want to make a more elaborate version of this tree. (1) You (2) Mother (3) Father (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) 1. YOU: Name (Year and Place) 2. MOTHER: Name 3. FATHER: Name 4. GRANDMOTHER: Name 5. GRANDFATHER: Name 12 LEARNING LINKS