Haitian Culture Curriculum Guide

Procedures/Activities:
1. Discuss what life is like for children in the United States. Use pictures from newspapers,
magazines, and web sites. You may want to focus on children from various cultures and
regions of the United States. Post student answers on the board or on chart paper.
2. Ask students, “Why do you think it is important to know about the lives of others?” You may
focus upon other cultures in the United States, immigrants to the United States, and people in
other countries.
3. Tell students that you will focus on life for children in Haiti, the homeland of Haitian
immigrants in South Florida. Discuss life for children in Haiti according to region of residence
in the country. Use "Life of the Haitian Child" (in Background section of Haitian Culture
Curriculum Guide Grades K-5) to inform your discussion. You might also use pictures from
books on Haiti in your media center or from web sites on Haiti to depict the lives of children in
various regions.
4. As a class, note the important elements of life in the countryside/mountains, life in the province,
and life in the capital of Haiti. You could write these on overhead transparency or chart paper.
5. As a class, compare and contrast the life of the Haitian child to the lives of students in South
Florida using a Venn diagram. Label the left circle, “Lives of Haitian Children” and the right
circle, “Lives of Students in South Florida.” Students may use their completed handout on life
for children in Haiti to inform their answers. Focus on the similarities between the lives of
Haitian children and the lives of students in your classroom.
6. Allow students to take a closer look at their own lives. Students make dioramas depicting their
own lives in South Florida; students also write a four-sentence paragraph explaining the
diorama. Students could type and print their paragraphs using a word processing program.
7. Students present their dioramas and paragraphs to the class. Discuss similarities and
differences among the lives of students. You might focus upon cultural similarities and
differences.
8. Display student dioramas and paragraphs.
Assessment:
• Participation in class discussion
• Diorama on student’s life in South Florida
• Four-sentence paragraph explaining diorama
• Completion of Venn diagram
Follow-up Activity:
The class could revisit the comparison/contrast between the lives of children in Haiti and in South
Florida and discuss possible reasons why Haitians immigrate to our community.
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