Two fifth grade classes at Northwood Elementary School now know much more about their fellow classmates and the cultures that shaped them as individuals thanks to participating in a Worldwide Culture Swap.
The idea was started by a mother living in France who was interested in different cultures and wanted to introduce her children to the world in a fun, visual and personal way. She had an idea that people could connect and learn about the world by swapping boxes of items that represented their culture. She started a blog introducing the swap and now families around the world are participating.
At Northwood, students created boxes with five carefully selected items to represent their culture/cultures. “Countries and cultures from all over the world are represented at our school,” said Erin Cavallaro, who along with Holly Duford, recreated the idea of a Worldwide Culture Swap for students.
On the day of the swap, students brought in their culture boxes and each student received a box from another student, which they opened and investigated. After writing down what they observed and learned from the items, they wrote letters back to the box curator.
Addie Sloan opened a box with items from the Ukraine. “I like how different the words are and how the money looks,” she observed. She also learned that the shirt enclosed was believed to protect those who wore it and that the Trident means freedom. “This person put a lot of effort into this box,” she said. “Even though the things are from a different country, I can still understand what they mean.”
Collin Wegman opened a box with a book, beads and a tapestry from Yemen. “It looks like some Yemen books go backwards,” he observed from looking at the Quran.
At the end of the day, parents were invited to see the projects and the boxes were returned to each family.
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