By Anne Marie Amacher
DAVENPORT — Students in sixth through eighth grade at All Saints Catholic School will share information about their nationalities during a culture fair Dec. 13 at the school.
Sandy Thomson, middle school social studies teacher, gave the assignment to her students earlier this month. “There is a lot of diversity in our school,” she said referring to a number of Asian, Hispanic and African-American students in the school. “I want the students to learn about themselves and their ancestry.”
Two years ago she held the school’s first cultural fair. That year small groups were responsible for selecting a country to research and give a presentation during the school day.
This time she is having the students talk with their families about their nationalities and to choose one of those nationalities on which to write a report.
Thomson said the project will emphasize the family’s country of origin. Students are to focus on the culture and traditions of that country. If the family still practices some traditions, that is to be included in the report.
Thomson said students must focus on three cultural aspects for their project, representing material and non-material aspects. Under the material category, options include food, clothes, art, crafts, technology and architecture. Under the non-material category options include language, music, religion, holidays, beliefs and behaviors, for example.
Students will produce a trifold poster that shows where the country is located, pictures of subjects they wrote about, statistical graphs and other details. They also will make a five-minute presentation.
With the help of students and their families and even their parishes, Thomson hopes to have some speakers or performers representing various cultures at the culture fair and for authentic foods to be served.
The event will be held during the school day and at night so that more families can learn about the various countries and cultures represented at the school.