Interdisciplinary 4th grade unit on Japanese culture : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)

Multicultural education has become a recent focus in educational articles and magazines across the nation. It is essential for elementary educators to incorporate multicultural education into their classroom in order for students to have a sense of cultural awareness in real life situations. As a professional educator in a system that is always changing, it is necessary to stay focused on the educational needs of the students. Research has proven that the interdisciplinary method of teaching is one that caters to all students' developmental and academic needs. This thesis is founded on the method of interdisciplinary teaching and offers educators a plan for integrating cultural awareness into an elementary classroom. Included in this thesis is an overview of the importance of multicultural education, an. analysis in support of the interdisciplinary method, and a Japanese cultural unit for a fourth grade classroom.