Multi-cultural curriculum is very strong American school systems right now, as it is in several other nations. It should be! With the onset of the Internet, cable television, and other influences, our youngsters are exposed more than ever to different traditions and ideas. However, it can be a little overwhelming deciding just what cultures should be emphasized in the music curriculum.

To make it easier, you might want to first send out a mini-questionnaire to your classroom teachers, asking them what cultures they will cover during the school year and approximately when. Cross-curricular activities are a terrific way to reinforce objectives (as long as it doesn't interfere with your holiday program!) Even if you can't quite click your schedules together, there's no reason why you can't correlate plans with the teachers. Nothing makes a teacher feel better than knowing that material covered in September is still remembered in November. And, it gives the students a chance to show off. For instance, one of my schools does a multicultural unit in May, but I tend to do a Culture of the Month to help me keep in step with my other school. I feel pretty good when students can tell a teacher they already know about the digeridoo because Mrs. Stafford covered that in music class!

Another guideline might be the cultural make-up of your own particular school. My area consists of mostly German heritage, so I make sure I don't leave that out! I do an Oktoberfest unit. Because of the Missouri Assessment program, I also emphasize Caribbean, Asian, African, and Latin styles.

You might break your cultural units down by the month to observe certain holidays. As mentioned earlier, I do Germany in October, my Native American and American unit in November (in between all the Christmas stuff!), Israeli in December, Asian in January (because of the Chinese New Year), and Latin American in May (for Cinco de Mayo). I had done Australian in January because of Australia Day, but it can also be done in September. I generally do African-American and African in February because of African-American History Month.

Tie in some more cross-curricular with children's literature! Some ideas: use The Singing Sack, any of the Anasi books, Traveling to Tondo, Baby Rattlesnake, or The Flute Player, for starters.

For some ideas and resources, check out the following links and books (thanks to Carol and Sandy for their contributions!):

As always, visiting the list archives at Music K-8 will provide you with a wealth of ideas!

Although it's been retired, my former topic area at Suite 101 has several articles on different cultural activities, plus resource links.

For digeridoo technique, visit Toot and Hoot Digeridoos.

Visit the Music Hall, which includes extensive sections on a variety of world cultures.

The African Music Encyclopedia is a great resource on African music terminology.

Dance Drummer has examples of instruments from Ghana.

Celtic Music includes articles and CD reviews.

BOOKS:

Let's Make Music! by Jessica Baron Turner and Ronny Susan Schiff

Roots and Branches" by Patricia Shehan Campbell, Ellen McCullough-Brabson,
Judith Cook Tucker

The Singing Sack (My students love the stories!)

Myth, Music, and Dance of the American Indian

A wide variety of resources can also be found from Plank Road Publishing and from World Music Press.

Your individual lesson plans or ideas on this topic are very welcome! Just submit them, and they will be included in the Contributions or Lesson Plans sections