6th Grade Cultural Universals Museum

The beginning of 6th grade is a big transition time for students. To get to know them better and help them settle into middle school, we start the year off with an interdisciplinary project called THE CULTURAL UNIVERSALS MUSEUM. It involves work in art, music, humanities, math, science and technology. We asked, "What does a society need to be successful and sustainable over time?" This year, we expanded the museum and shared it with the whole school. In groups of four or five, students created their own cultures that included: values, governments, technology, a money system, language and number systems, rites of passage, creation myths, a national anthem, artifacts, technology, and maps.

They thought very deeply about the kind of culture that they wanted to create. In one group, the law was that you could marry whomever you chose, but you had to live together for a full year after you were married before you could have children. They thought this would ensure that the parents would get along with one another first, before they had a child. Another group created a money system where each coin had the number of sides it represented. For example, a 5-cent coin had 5 sides.

The project allowed teachers to see what kind of creative work and thinking each individual student gravitated to, be it art, music, or technology. It also got them working in groups and sharing ideas.