DOCUMENT RESUME ED 115 635 SP 009 705 TITLE Multi-Ethnic Curriculum Units Primary, Intermediate, and Secondary Levels. A Model Program in Multi-Ethnic Heritage Studies. INSTITUTION Mankato State Coll., Minn. NOTE 252p. EDRS PRICE MF-$0.76 HC-$13.32 Plus Postage DESCRIPTORS *Cultural Awareness; Cultural Background; *Curriculum Guides; Curriculum Planning; *Elementary Secondary Education; *Ethnic Groups; Ethnic Stereotypes; *Ethnic Studies; Films; Music; Poetry ABSTRACT This curriculum guide contains a preface and an introduction for each level of learning plus three parts. The preface and introduction make a case for reversing the trend in American schools of teaching children to be well-assimilated Americans. They state, rather, that children should be encouraged to know and be proud of their ethnic heritage as well as the ethnic background of others. Primary level units include a lesson on "I'm Special" and "Differences Equal You and Me." The child learns to value his/her own specialness and to understand the things he/she has in common with other children in addition to their differences. General objectives (or rationale) and specific procedures, including suggested songs, exercises, and poems, are included. The intermediate level units focus on specific ethnic groups such as German, Jewish, black, Mexican-American, and others. These units are more sophisticated than those in the first group, and include maps, bibliographies for students and teachers, and imaginative exercises, one of which, for example, involves children in constructing a hypotbiAical community. The-third part is for secondary schools. The model units are designel to be useful in a number of classes besides social studies. Some of the units that are presented are Asian-American culture, minority literature, folk dances, and European influences on architecture. A list of film topics for philosophical discussion, ideas for role playing, and recipes are included. (CD) *********************************************************************** Documents acquired by ERIC include many informal unpublished * materials not available from other sources. ERIC makes every effort * * to obtain the best copy available. Nevertheless, items of marginal * * reproducibility are often encountered and this affects the quality * * of the microfiche and hardcopy reproductions ERIC makes available * via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS) .EDRS is not * responsible for the quality of the original document. Reproductions * * supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original. ********Nc************************************************************** MULTI ...ETNN I C CURRICULUM UN ITS PRTNARY,- INTERMEDIATEr, AND SECONDARY LEVELS U S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION `THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO- DUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM `THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGIN- ATING IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS , STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRE- ',SENT OFFICIAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF !EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY Minority Group Study Center Mankato State College Mankato, Minnesota 56001 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface Introduction to Multi-Ethnic Curriculum Units iv Primary Level Units Overview of Primary Level Units P-1 I'm Special P-2 Differences Equal You and Me P-27 A Study of Eskimo Life in Alaska P -.39 South Korea: "Land of Morning Calm" P-54 Intermediate Level Units Overview of Intermediate Level Units 1-1 A Multi-Ethnic Unit 1-3 A Study of German and Jewish Ethnic Groups 1-7 Our Community Project 1-24 The Black and Mexican-American 1-31 Ethnic Groups in Minnesota From 1850-1900 1-37 Personal Ethnic Studies 1-57 From the Land of the Midnight Sun to the Fertile Prairie of Minnesota 1-66 The Mexican-American 1-75 Secondary Level Units Overview of Secondary Level Units S-1 Asian-American Culture S-3 Minority Literature Unit S-22 Folk Dances of Germany and Italy S-29 English and European Influences on Traditional Architectural Styles Today S-54 English Influences on Traditional Furniture Styles in America S-61 Ethnic Settlements on Topographic Maps S-73 3 PREFACE White America has long Prided itself for being a"melting pot" into which a multitude of races, ethnic, cultural, andlanguage groups were poured. After a period of tine had passed, as the story noes, this multiplicity of individuals would be "melted" down into ahomogeneous, unified group of persons known only as "Americans." Gone would be the ethnic and cultural idiosyncracies from their native countries;these were to be "Americans, and they wouldhave to learn to behave like Americans.now. Gone would be the multiplicity of language groupings, dialects, and accents; in America all must speak AmericanEnglish. And gone would be ridicule,misunderstandings, prejudice, discrimination, exploitation among different croups; where is the logicin ridiculing or faulting one's fellow Americanwhen we were all poured from the same mixture? However, creditable or idealistic, the Melting PotTheory may have been to many generations of Americans, today it mustbe viewed as having one all-encomassing drawbackit was(and is) an abysmal failure. In fact, it can be a,.gued that if the melting pot everexisted, it was in the minds of people, and not in the streets of bigcities or on isolated country lanes. The melting pot was a myth, because the "powers thatbe" in America have traditionally been white Europeans, and mostspecifically, White Anglo-Saxon British Protestants. The official language of America is English; the legal system of America is basicallyBritish; the strongest cultural traditions, literature, and politicalallegiances are British. Had the melting pot existed, it almostcertainly would not have been a proportional mixture with a truly homogenized product. The pot itself would have been Northern European, and the cook British, for the finished product would not have been a true, proportional mixture of those groups that went into the mix, but instead a modified white-thinking Northern European. But if the melting pot theory is a myth, it also contains elements of truth. For instance, it is a matter of fact that official American Federal policy has been to attempt to actively encourage the image of individuals as Americans---plain and simple---at the expense of the in- dividual's ethnic heritage. Until recently, all Americans have been officially encouraned (at virtually all levels of government) to disavow their linguistic, cultural, and ethnic heritages, and to merge quietly into the "mainstream of American life". Had this trend continued, per- haps in a hundred years the only vestiges of our tremendously varied cultural and ethnic heritages would be an occasional ethnic restaurant, kept around as an oddity and because the food was somewhat different. In recent years, however, perhaps spurred on by the Civil Rights Cru- sades of the 1960's, a new sense of ethnicity and ethnic pride has begun to emerge in America. A consensus has begun to emerge which argues that it is possible to have a sense of ethnic identity, and an appre- ciation of and sensitivity to one's ethnic heritage, and still be a proud American. The most basic assumption made in the curricular-materials Which follow is that it is not only Possible to have a sense of ethnic identity and be a good American, but that it probably is very desirable for many persons to do so. In brief, the assumption is made that every American---White, Black, Brown, Red, or Yellow---has the right to have ii t1 a sense of ethnic identity and nride, and that he orshe has the right to learn about his/her own and others' ethnic heritages. It is impossible to acknowledge individually each person who has contributed to or participated in the Model Program in Multi-Ethnic Heritage Studies, funded by Title IX Ethnic Heritage Project (Health, Education, and Welfare), at Mankato State College. However, special appreciation should be exnressed to: - The members of the Advisory Council who havebeen very helpful in their advices and suggestions. - The Administration and Faculty at Mankato StateCollege who have been receptive to the content of ethnicity. -The instructors of the Curriculum Development courses: Sheldon Brown, Harold Rurch, and Glen White, who helped students revise existing curriculum materials and develop units reflecting a multi-ethnic approach. -The elementary and secondary Teachers enrolled in the Curriculum Development in Multi-Ethnic Studies course; who, through their development of curriculum units at different grade levels and for different subject matters, made valuable contributions with their snout. -The Community of Mankato and the midwest area which, through their cooperation, showed strong ties between the college and community. - The staff members of the Multi-EthnicHeritage Studies Project: the curriculum specialist, Kathryn Kurtz; the graduate assistants, Dan Panuette, Lydia Fang, and James Clardy; the secretary,Debra Wieder- kofler; and all the neonle involved, directly or indirectly, inthis project. Michael T. Fagin, Director Multi-Ethnic Heritage studies Hanh Huy Phan DeMaree, Assistant Director Multi-Ethnic Heritage Studies ti INTRODUCTION TO MULTI-ETHNIC CURRICULUM UNITS Traditionally American schools have presented an image of our society that is essentially uni-cultural and mono-ethnic. Emphasis has been placed cn encouraging those qualities in a student which would make him accepted into such a society, assimilated into the mainstream. Schools have thus viewed themselves as the "fire under the melting pot." Recently