Need to Talk to 6th Graders About U.S. Culture

[sheawj]

...any ideas or tips on things I can add?
I am going to my son's classroom to give a little talk about our home country (and to help bridge a gap that my son is feeling with his Argentine classmates).
I have some ideas (maybe a few of our holidays that we don't have in Argentina, the fact that we don't kiss or touch each other as much, etc), but I was wondering if anyone had any other ideas. Have any other parents here had to give a talk about your country of origin? I know I can pull something together, but would really like some feedback to give a nice presentation.

 

[chris]

They're sixth graders so you need to keep it simple but I think you could give a bit of historic background, especially how the first colonists were seeking religious freedom, you could explain about the Puritans and how difficult their first winter was and how Thanksgiving evolved. You could also start off by asking the class WHAT THEY KNOW about the US and from there you could build your talk.

 

[Gadget]

I teach 6th grade here and the kids are very curious about the U.S. They've bombarded me with a copious amount of questions including:
The various U.S. sports teams, the games, the fans, the sports themselves, different slang words or "cool" things to say, what and when I eat, if I know :::insert famous person's name here:::, how to celebrate birthday parties, subjects in school, school schedule...
Holidays are definitely a great topic as well. Good luck!

 

[sheawj]

I teach 6th grade here and the kids are very curious about the U.S. They've bombarded me with a copious amount of questions including:
The various U.S. sports teams, the games, the fans, the sports themselves, different slang words or "cool" things to say, what and when I eat, if I know :::insert famous person's name here:::, how to celebrate birthday parties, subjects in school, school schedule...
Holidays are definitely a great topic as well. Good luck!

Awesome, thanks Gadget! I may have to ask you a few more things before this is finished. I am going to bake something that we would typically eat (such as peanut butter cookies...I had to ask the teacher if any kids had nut allergies! At our U.S. school, we parents weren't allowed to take any nut items whatsoever on school grounds. Even packing a peanutbutter sandwich for your kid was forbidden. There is a cultural difference right there!).
As for the others asking if you know a famous person, my son was bombarded with such stuff when he first started. How funny!

 

[sheawj]

You could also start off by asking the class WHAT THEY KNOW about the US and from there you could build your talk.

Nice, thank you! I bet I get some interesting answers! I know once a kid asked my son if it was true we always ate at McDonalds. Hah, he wishes!

 

[Justing]

Even packing a peanutbutter sandwich for your kid was forbidden. There is a cultural difference right there!)

Actually the rate of allergies and skin related problems has been rising very rapidly in the US, UK and Australia in last 20 years. Many suspect environmental or gm foods (genetically modified). Peanut allergies have tripled in past decade in children in US. Eczema cases in the UK have risen 40% in five years.

Might want to talk about how diverse US culture is as you travel across the country...Vermont, Louisiana, Texans, Tech Valley, Native Americans, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Alaskans... Could get some real laughs out of the kids if you use images to compare!

 

[ghost]

Awesome, thanks Gadget! I may have to ask you a few more things before this is finished. I am going to bake something that we would typically eat (such as peanut butter cookies...I had to ask the teacher if any kids had nut allergies! At our U.S. school, we parents weren't allowed to take any nut items whatsoever on school grounds. Even packing a peanutbutter sandwich for your kid was forbidden. There is a cultural difference right there!).
As for the others asking if you know a famous person, my son was bombarded with such stuff when he first started. How funny!

Yeah Right, no peanut butter, but it's OK to stuff the kid with Ritalin [or similar] Explain the term Nanny State as compared to Argentina.

 

[deeve007]

I would avoid much history, and focus on contemporary culture, sports ...etc.

 

[sheawj]

I just got home from my talk to my son's class and it went really well.
Thanks to all for your suggestions.
I also brought the peanutbutter cookies and threw together a batch of banana bread and the kids went wild.

Thanks again!