Cultural Studies - Ms Foster
Welcome back to Term 4 in Cultural Studies. I was on Long Service leave for the first couple of weeks - touring around Japan (for educational purposes of course!). I made sure I immersed myself in as many cultural activities and events that I could, and of course I tried ALL of the food!
I'm happy to be back in the library to continue learning and sharing about all the amazing cultures that make up this school!
PREP: Prep continued to investigate 'Cultures of our School'. Last term we looked at China, Iran and Greece. This term we have started with India and will also learn about Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. The students love sharing their stories about their culture with their classmates. We also learn about the celebrations, language and food of each country.
Grade One - Six are looking at Celebrations of the World this term. They were given the chance for 'Student Voice' by voting for the celebrations they wished to learn about this term. This was done as a parent survey sent through Compass for grade 1 and 2, and as a Google form students completed for Grade 3 - 6.
A big favourite that always gets voted high are the celebrations of Halloween and Day of the Dead.
It is always interesting to see the students realise that Halloween is NOT actually originally from America, and trick or treating had a really scary purpose to begin with - not just the fun candy grab it is now!
Day of the Dead is the exact opposite feel to Halloween. It is a celebration to welcome home the spirits of their ancestors - It is a happy and joyful celebration not a spooky one!
Level Six enjoyed learning about 2 Japanese Festivals - Blossom Festival and Children's Day. They were able to share all the reasons they would love to participate in these great celebrations.
Level Two voted to learn about the Mid-Autumn Festival. They were interested to learn about 3 traditional Chinese tales which are based around the Moon including Chang-E and the Jade Rabbit. Students who celebrate the Moon Festival were excited to share their family traditions and favourite parts of the celebration.
Level Three also voted to learn about Korean New Year, also known as Seollal. They loved learning about all the special traditions, including tteokguk, a rice cake soup that you eat to become one year older! They also were excited to see some very familiar traditional outfits which are worn in a little movie called, K-pop Demon Hunters!
The favourite part of the lesson is playing a game of Yut Nori - a game which involves throwing special sticks in the air as a dice. It always ends up with lots of cheers, groans and competitive energy!
I look forward to learning about some more cultural celebrations over the rest of the term!
By Ms Foster
Cultural Studies/Library Specialist