LESSON 4: CULTURAL TRADITIONS
JOURNAL REFLECTION
Write the statement below along with the following questions on the board. Give students 15–20 minutes to write a reflective and
thoughtful response. Tell them they will be sharing their answers with the class.
Traditions can change or become lost over the years, but sometimes they are resurrected in successive generations and become
accepted by the larger community. Because of the rich diversity of Americans, many people today are going back to their ethnic
roots and are becoming more accepting of other cultures.
• Do you agree or disagree with the statement above? Why or why not?
• Do you have an example of this situation happening in your own family? Please describe.
• What is your definition of a tradition?
• How can traditions change or become lost?
• Do you think it’s difficult for people to bring back lost traditions? Why or why not?
• Do you think America will ever reach a level of complete tolerance toward different traditions? How can we, as a nation, get there?
How long do you estimate that taking?
CLASS DISCUSSION
Discuss the questions and answers together as a class.
EXTENSION ACTIVITY
Comparing & Contrasting Cultural Traditions
Ask students to compare the differences and similarities between traditions from their own cultural, ethnic or religious community and
compare it to one of the other ethnic traditions studied in Chapters 1-3. Include the following information or answer the following
questions in your comparison:
• How is the cultural tradition that you are focusing on similar to one of the cultural traditions you learned about in your reading?
• How are the traditions different? Are either cultural events considered a mainstream American tradition or observed on a U.S. calendar?
• If so, how long has it been considered a mainstream American tradition?
• If not, do you foresee that it could ever be considered a mainstream American tradition, and under what circumstances would
this happen?
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