WORLD CULTURES

Welcome to World Cultures for 2026! This subject allows students to make connections and comparisons through a variety of languages and cultures, while also helping them to make sense of their own language and identity. Learning about other cultures and languages encourages students to be inquisitive, build empathy, and allows them to interact and communicate effectively with those around them. Finally, students are able to build on their dispositions of Respect, Inclusiveness and being Learners.

During the first few weeks of World Culture, students spent time getting to know each other and discussing class agreements and High Behaviour Expectations and Values for World Culture lessons. We talked about how we are all part of a group and that the word ‘culture’ means the shared behaviour and beliefs of a group of people. After this, students spent some time tracing and decorating a colourful hand which represented their name, favourite colours and images of things they like. These hands will be put up on a display soon as a representation of us all being different, yet included and a part of the overall culture of HEPS.

Students then spent time thinking about what they would like to learn regarding the world and the people in it. They wrote their wonderings down and put them on display as a reminder of our interests and curiosities about other cultures and places. Students also revised their understanding of continents and countries through songs and videos, a brief exploration of Google Earth, and looking at maps and Atlases.

Castle students talked about where they live and what makes them unique. They listened to the story ‘All People Are Beautiful’ by Vincent Kelly and danced to a song celebrating people’s differences called ‘So Many Colours, So Many Shapes’. Through different games and activities, students explored their own hair and eye colour, favourite colours and foods, and how old they are. They filled out a ‘Who Am I?’ sheet to share their 

understanding.

Holly and Stilwell students used a conversation game board to discuss their thinking about their own country and other countries around the world. Some topics discussed were: which country would you most like to visit? What interesting fact do you know about any country? Talk about your country’s flags. What is your country famous for? Describe the food in your country. They are now working on making posters about themselves in order to reflect on their own culture and identity before learning about other cultures. 

We will now be exploring the different ways Easter is celebrated around the world, before moving onto learning all about Africa in Term 2!

Lauren Mawson

World Cultures Teacher