International Fair Pictures

Some pictures from the International Fair...

6th Grade International Fair -- May 22

– This year’s 6th grade International Fair, on May 22, will focus on nations with significantly Muslim populations. Teams of students will work together to learn about the cultures of 10 different nations around the world. Each team will then make a multi-faceted presentation of what they learn and discover together to their classmates, parents, and friends. Learning should include a variety of information about the geography, government, customs, cultural elements, and history of the assigned nation.

Student groups are expected to prepare an attractive and informative display about their assigned nation (including an area where visitors could sample four to five dishes from the culture), and to present a cultural presentation that would include elements such as appropriate costumes, music, dance, poetry, story-telling, games, etc.

Project Requirements --

1) General Poster – Map, Flag, Climate, System of government, Currency, Leader, Current events

2) Historical Timeline – Drawn to scale and illustrated. Timelines should display at least 10 important events in the history of your country. Five of these events must be illustrated.

3) Travel Guide Brochure – Places to visit, Usual weather, Tips for travelers, Special events

4) Biographical Poster of famous person from your country (required – one from each group member) Scientist, Scholar, Artist, Poet, Musician, Architect, Leader, Athlete, Author, Doctor, Explorer, Women, etc. Include – Date and place of birth, family, education, accomplishments, portrait, fun or interesting facts

5) Food Items from the culture (one required from each group member) – Your food item must serve at least 6. Bring to school the morning of the International festival in a container that is clearly marked with your name. Directions for serving the item should be attached (eg.: reheat, refrigerate, etc.) Provide recipes and required serving items (plates, bowls, cups, spoons, etc.)

6) Group Presentation – Each group will be required to make a cultural presentation about their country. Group members should dress in the caftans that we made in class. Material for the presentation may include any three of the following:

Summary and Description of Interview with Muslim Visitor

Poem

Prayer

Song

Dance

Story or Folktale

Dramatic scene

Game

Demonstration: craft, celebration, ceremony, ritual, etc.

Other (with teacher approval)

Resources –

Every effort will be made to connect students with a Muslim visitor from the country that they are studying. However, it is important to remember that these are volunteers who generously give of their time in order to facilitate this project. There is no guarantee that every group will have the opportunity to visit personally with a member of our local Muslim community.

General Information --

CIA World Factbook

Famous People by Nationality

Islamic Studies Topics

Story Garden

History for Kids

Islamic Poems for Kids

Classical Islamic Poetry

Islamic music

Links for Dances --

Traditional Syrian Dance

Traditional Iranian Dance

Traditional Ethiopian Dance

Traditional Egyptian Dance

Traditional Moroccan Dance

Traditional Bosnian Dance

Traditional South African Dance

Traditional Indian Dance

Traditional Taiwanese Dance

Traditional Palestinian Dance

International Festival Grading Criteria—

General Poster --

___ Map

___ Flag

___ Climate

___ System of government

___ Currency

___ Leader

___ Current events ___ Creative and attractive

Historical Timeline –

___ Drawn to scale

___ at least 10 important

___ Five of these events are illustrated ___ Creative and attractive

Travel Guide Brochure –

___ Places to visit

___ Usual weather

___ Tips for travelers

___ Special events ___ Creative and attractive

Biographical Poster of famous Muslim (required – one from each group member)—

___ Date and place of birth

___ Family

___ Education

___ Accomplishments

___ Portrait (picture)

___ fun or interesting facts ___ Creative and attractive

Food Items from the culture (one required from each group member) –

___ serves at least 6

___ in a container that is clearly marked with your name

___ Directions for serving the item attached

___ Provide recipe

___ required serving items supplied (plates, bowls, cups, spoons, etc.)

Group Presentation –

___ Group members should dress in the caftans that we made in class

___ Material for the presentation may include any three of the following: · Summary and Description of Interview with Muslim Visitor

· Poem

· Prayer

· Song

· Dance

· Story or Folktale

· Dramatic scene

· Game

· Demonstration: craft, celebration, ceremony, ritual, etc.

· Other (with teacher approval)

Student-made Caftans

Sixth grade students made traditional caftans to wear for our upcoming International Festival. We had lots of help from a great group of seamstresses: Grace's mom, Shea's mom, Nohemi's grandmother, Erin's mom, Matt's mom, and Iain's mom all came to school and sewed their hearts out so that we could have these great caftans. A BIG thank you, to them all! The pattern comes from the Free Islamic Patterns website, and working on this project gave students a great opportunity to measure, and follow directions to create their own personal design. Here is a first look at our creations.

Sewing Help Needed

As we begin working to prepare for the 6th Grade International Festival, students will make caftans to wear for the event. Each student has calculated the amount of fabric that she or he needs to make a caftan. We will cut them out on April 28, and will sew them up in class on the morning of Wednesday, April 29. I have a portable sewing machine, but I could use more machines and some helpers to work with students on this project. If you have a portable sewing machine and are available and willing to volunteer on Wednesday 4/29, between 9:00 and 10:30, please call the school office or email me so I can schedule you in. Thanks in advance for your help with this project!

International Fair -- Thoughts

Our biggest project for the end of the year was the International Festival. We focused on the Muslim world, and all the countries that we studied have Muslim populations. We studied China, Indonesia, Egypt, Iran, Morocco, South Africa, Syria, Ethiopia, Jordan, and Palestine. We were able to work with people from our community who actually lived in the countries we were studying, and who volunteered their time to meet with students as they did their research (thanks to the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati and The Center for American-Islamic Relations). We also had a visit from author, Freda Crane. Students prepared great displays, made foods to share from each of their countries. Each group gave a presentation about the culture and history of their assigned country. The presentations included folktales, dances, games, language demonstrations, skits, and a variety of other elements. Some student comments about the day were:

• I learned about Palestine. I never even knew Palestine existed. The story about the Palestinian people’s war with Israel is very interesting.
• Teamwork is key in this project. Hard work and listening to your partners are also important.
• We now know a lot more about how to treat people from different countries.
• I realize we are not the only ones out there. There is a lot more to explore.
• It was cool to make food that I had never seen before.
• If we learn more about the customs and traditions of others, the world will be a little more integrated.
• Learning about other cultures will be helpful for traveling later – we’ll know more what to do.
• Ethiopia is starving. They are very poor, and we need to help.
• Always get volunteers from the audience. They love it when you include them in things.
• It was a connection between countries.
• I learned that you can’t judge people based on where they come from.
• I felt like I could reach out to other cultures.
• There are many different cultures in the world, but we can learn about them and understand them and make peace.
• This project makes you think about the world’s opinion and feelings about wars.
• This project was a time for us to grow and change.

International Fair

The International Fair was a wonderful event. Students worked very hard, and their efforts paid off in a very enjoyable time for them and their guests. There were a number of cameras taking photos. I'll add them as I can get hold of them.

6th Grade International Fair -- Coming Up on May 23

This year’s 6th grade International Fair, on May 23, will focus on nations with significantly Muslim populations. Teams of students will work together to learn about the cultures of ten different nations around the world. Each team will then make a multi-faceted presentation of what they learn and discover together to their classmates, parents, and friends.

Learning should include a variety of information about the geography, government, customs, cultural elements, and history of the assigned nation. Student groups are expected to prepare an attractive and informative display about their assigned nation (including an area where visitors could sample two or three dishes from the culture), and to present a cultural presentation that would include elements such as appropriate costumes, music, dance, poetry, story-telling, games, etc.


Required Display Elements:
Area: (total, land, water, comparative)
Land boundaries
Coastline
Climate
Terrain
Natural resources
Natural hazards
Environment – current issues
Population
Nationality or nationalities
Religion(s)
Language(s)
Government type
Capital
Food – Recipes?
Color pictures or drawings (minimum of 5)
Map (picture)
Flag (picture)

Presentation Requirements:
a) Your presentation should summarize some elements of what you have learned about your country.
b) Your presentation may include elements of art and culture, including: Games, Storytelling, Song/Music, Dance, Art or “made” Objects, Art, Clothing
c) Your team should dress in costumes that are representative of the country that you studied.
d) Your presentation should last approximately 5 minutes.
e) Your presentation should be interesting, informative, and entertaining.
f) It is important that the audience can see/hear what it is that you present.
g) Everyone in your group should participate fully in the presentation that you prepare.