Mount Kisco Third Graders Take Families on a Tour Around the World

“Chinese papercutting has been around for 1,000 years,” Lyla Sabia said in a voice filled with wonder.

Lyla and her third-grade peers at Mount Kisco Elementary School have spent weeks studying the cultures and traditions of specific countries before presenting their research to friends and family during Passport Day.

“Students researched various aspects of daily life, traditions, geography, etc., then created presentations to teach others,” third-grade teacher Ashley Tujillo said. “The experience encouraged curiosity and global awareness, as they shared their knowledge with classmates, families, and staff. Our second graders also visited to see what they will be working on next year!”

The third-grade classrooms were transformed into China, Greece, Kenya, the Philippines and Brazil for the big event. Since MKES is a dual language bilingual education (DLBE) school, students presented their work in both English and Spanish. They were overflowing with interesting facts.

“In 190, men only wore dresses,” said Andrea Maldonado Ramirez, who studied the clothing in Greece.

Kaitlyn Ruiz Arias spoke with enthusiasm about bamboo dancing in the Philippines.

“People listen to music and dodge the bamboo,” she said. “Sometimes they even do it blindfolded! They are very talented.”

“I didn’t know that indigenous girls would only dress in white and red in Brazil,” Samantha Velasquez Duarte said.

Students were also excited to connect what they learned while researching with information they already knew.

Aileen Bonilla Perez thought it was cool that the number four in Greek, tessera, is similar to the number three in Spanish, tres.

Partners who studied the language of Brazil were in awe of how similar Portuguese is to Spanish.

“It’s almost the same as Spanish!” they said. “We can understand a lot of it.”

Like any project, this one included some challenges for students to overcome. Whether they were nervous about presenting to guests or struggled to make their vision come to life, students worked through their challenges.

“The project was so hard to build, and, during our research, it was hard to find images,” one group said.

Through collaboration, critical thinking, adaptability and little bit of determination, students did an incredible job.

“I hope they gained a deeper understanding and appreciation of cultures around the world while developing their research, writing, speaking, and presentation skills,” Trujillo said. “Most importantly, I hope they built confidence by sharing their learning with an authentic audience.”