Introduction
Every culture has its own special way of honoring nature! A festival for the first cherry blossoms, a story about why the spider spins her web, a holiday built around marigolds and monarch butterflies. These traditions tell us what a community values and how they see their place in our world.
In this WebQuest, you'll become a cultural field researcher!
Your mission: learn about a nature tradition from a culture different from your own, and then connect it back to a tradition from your own family or community.
Task
Working in a small group, you will:
- Choose one culture's nature tradition to research (see Process page for a list).
- Create a presentation that explains the tradition. Use the questions as prompts. This can be a poster, slideshow, or video.
- Go home and interview a family or community member about a nature tradition. Compare it to the culture your group picked.
- Present to the class and add your tradition to our shared World Map of Nature Traditions.
Process
Step 1: Form your group
- Get into groups of 5. Decide together who will research, who will design, and who will present.
Step 2: Choose a tradition
- Cherry Blossom festival: Japan
- Day of the Dead marigolds & monarch butterflies: Mexico
- Anansi the Spider stories: West Africa
- Land and bison stewardship stories: Native Americans
- Elephant festivals: Thailand/India
- Harvest festivals (like Thanksgiving): All over
Step 3: Research questions
- What is the tradition, and when does it happen?
- What part of nature is being honored (a plant, animal, season)?
- What story or belief explains why this tradition started?
- How do families and communities take part?
Step 4: Bring it home
- Talk with a family or community member about you traditions
Step 5: Present & map it
- Share your presentation and pin your two traditions (researched + your own) on our class World Map.
Resources
- National Geographic Kids: Information on cultures, animals, and festivals around the world
- Smithsonian Institution: Lots of content on folklife, history, and cultural collections
- PBS: Great source for videos
- School library. Ask our librarians to about our encyclopedia collection!
Evaluation
| Criteria | Developing | Proficient | Exemplary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accuracy | Some inaccurate info | Mostly accurate | Accurate, cites real sources |
| Connection to Own Tradition | Missing or very brief | Clear comparison included | Thoughtful comparison w/ family input |
| Use of Technology/Media | Minimal use | Some integration | Creative, well-chosen use of visuals/media |
Conclusion
By researching other traditions and looking closely at your own, you can see who connected different cultures are to this world and what similarities they may share with your own. Our World Map shows that every family, including yours, has its own way of honoring nature.
Teacher Page
Students choose among several topic options and presentation formats (poster, slideshow, video) and research means. This supports varied learning preferences. The family interview step also includes option for those students that struggle with English to work in their native languages and provide equal input in the assignment. Resources listed are free and publicly available. and library-based. Presentation format choice (including low-tech options like a poster) ensures students without reliable home technology access can still fully participate.