16 Teaching ideas for Harmony Day to promote inclusivity and cultural diversity

• The importance of Harmony Day in schools
• Classroom activities to celebrate cultural diversity
  • 1. Cultural show-and-tell
  • 2. Harmony Day poster challenge
  • 3. Multicultural music and dance
  • 4. World map activity
  • 5. Cultural shared lunch
  • 6. Orange unity chain activity
  • 7. ‘One Word, Many Languages’ challenge
• Art and storytelling projects that explore inclusivity
  • 8. ‘What does harmony look like?’ art project
  • 9. Cultural storytelling circles
  • 10. Diversity quilt project
• Group discussions and role-playing for understanding diversity
  • 11. Diversity circle discussions
  • 12. My name, my story
  • 13. Social media campaign
• Creating a classroom culture of respect and belonging
  • 14. Classroom inclusivity pledge
  • 15. Multicultural reading corner
  • 16. Acts of kindness challenge

The importance of Harmony Day in schools

Harmony Day celebrations are a great way for schools to foster and celebrate cultural diversity and respect. 

Harmony Day shares its day with the United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the 21st of March. 

Australian schools integrate these events into their days to celebrate the value of multiculturalism and the importance of promoting respect and understanding among students from a diverse range of backgrounds.

Orange is the official colour of Harmony Day and represents courage. This ties with the theme of the day, promoting cultural diversity and a sense of belonging for every Australian.

Wearing orange on the 21st of March has now become an annual tradition for schools across the country to show solidarity with inclusivity and belonging in classrooms. Orange-clad students and teachers are a strong visual reminder of our ongoing struggles to celebrate Australia’s multicultural heritage.

By including appropriate activities to commemorate Harmony Day, teachers can allow students to broaden their cultural consciousness and to establish a continuous culture of respect. By teaching empathy, inclusiveness and encouraging students to value multiple cultures, we can allow our students to exchange personal experiences and acquire skills to respectfully cross-culturally communicate throughout their lives.

Classroom activities to celebrate cultural diversity

1) Cultural show-and-tell

This activity allows students to take pride in their heritage while also learning about the diverse backgrounds that make up their classroom. 

1. Students are to bring to class an object or photo that is significant to their cultural background. 
2. Students are to explain this significance, to the class, in a traditional show and tell structure. 
3. At the end of each student’s presentation, they can leave their object or photo on a designated table. 
4. At the conclusion of show and tell, the classroom has a visual representation of their diversity, in a picture perfect arrangement that will make a great feature for any school newsletter. 

2) Harmony Day poster challenge

1. Ask students to design posters as a physical representation of what ‘harmony’ means to them. 
2. They could choose to use symbols, quotes, and images that represent unity and cultural diversity within your school context. 
3. Display the posters around the school to spread awareness.

3) Multicultural music and dance

During this activity, you can explore music and dance from different cultures around the world. 

1. Have students learn and perform traditional dances or, for a shorter activity, listen to music from the different cultures that make up your school cohort. 
   • For older students, you can discuss the cultural significance behind each performance. 
2. This is a particularly nice activity to complete as a school, as each class can demonstrate their learning and understanding of a particular culture in a school dance performance. 

4) World map activity

Place a large world map in the classroom and ask students to mark the countries where their cultural heritage originates from. 

This visual representation of cultural diversity fosters a sense of connection and belonging within the class, bringing a better understanding of the meaning of Harmony Day.

This is also a wonderful display to put in the entrance to the school or main office area as a visual representation of the cultural diversity of your school. 

5) Cultural shared lunch

Please be mindful of dietary requirements and allergies during this activity. 

1. Students are to bring in a dish or treat from their culture and share in a class feast. 
2. Each dish should include:
   • A list of ingredients, 
   • An explanation of when and where the food would be shared and 
   • A brief explanation of why each student chose to bring in their chosen dish. 
3. Students can then taste their way around the world! 

Click here to learn about how Australia’s cuisine has been influenced by multiculturalism.

6) Orange unity chain activity

To symbolise unity and diversity, students will create a paper chain using orange strips of paper, each of which is decorated with words of respect, kindness, and cultural appreciation. 

• Younger students can brainstorm words that define these concepts and 
• Older students can write a promise of unity on their orange strips. 

This way, schools with many year levels can come together across the entire school community by linking their chains together.

7) ‘One Word, Many Languages’ challenge

Select a meaningful term such as ‘welcome,’ ‘peace,’ or ‘friendship’ and have students write it in as many different languages as they can. 

Students can make a wall display of their many ways of expressing their words. 

This can be used with older students to have common phrases and sayings in various cultures as a sign of respecting others, a far broader concept with a lovely result.

Art and storytelling projects that explore inclusivity

8) ‘What does harmony look like?’ art project

Request students to create artwork that represents inclusivity, friendship, and respect. 

This can be drawings, paintings, or even digital art that depicts a world where everyone belongs.

If you have the space and the time, perhaps this could be transferred to an appropriate wall or space in the school as a large scale mural. 

9) Cultural storytelling circles

Ask students to bring in narratives from their own culture, for example, folklore, myths, or family tradition. 

Ask students to share these stories with the class before:

1. Using VENN diagrams to link and differentiate the stories.
2. Choosing their favourite and recording a podcast reading of the tale for a young audience. 
   • The focus being on storytelling techniques such as tone, volume, pace and intonation. 
3. Illustrating the front cover of a chosen narrative for a modern audience. 

You can have older students add a written explanation of their design choices. 

Invite members of the local community to provide guest talks if feasible.

10) Diversity quilt project

1. Each student constructs a square describing their cultural origins or a welcome message. 
2. These squares are pieced together to form a ‘quilt’ and displayed within the classroom or school hallway.

These look fantastic in the classroom as a reference point for inclusivity and diversity but also make an amazing display along the school corridors or in the entranceway of the school. 

Group discussions and role-playing for understanding diversity

11) Diversity circle discussions

Use prompts such as:

• “What does diversity mean to you?” and 
• “How can we make everyone feel included?” 

to spark thoughtful discussions. 

Encourage students to share personal experiences and perspectives.

12) My name, my story

Ask students to find out their name’s origin and meaning. 

Have them present their facts during class as a celebration of the significance of names in different cultures.

13) Social media campaign

Social media has often been used to spread hatred and discord; what we need is for students to understand the correct use of technology. 

1. Students can create short videos, photos, or messages that represent their perception of what it means to belong. 
2. Use a particular hashtag (e.g., #HarmonyDayVoices) to gather and post the contribution of each student. 

This can then be used as a springboard for a class debate on how social media can be used to make a positive difference.

Creating a classroom culture of respect and belonging

14) Classroom inclusivity pledge

Have students work together to write a classroom pledge that promotes respect, kindness, and inclusivity. 

Display it in the classroom as a daily reminder and refer back to it as required.

15) Multicultural reading corner

Create a reading nook filled with books that depict diverse cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. 

Read and discuss books with students to highlight themes of empathy, identity, and belonging.

16) Acts of kindness challenge

Encourage students to perform one simple act of kindness a week. 

For example, 

• Helping a student, 
• Welcoming a person in their second language, or 
• Writing a thank-you card to a foreign student. 

Do this by putting it on a large posted check-list for early learners, or, be creative and use a ‘kindness bingo’ task for advanced learners, putting their created kindness in a square on a bingo grid for every student.

Harmony Day is a great window of opportunity for teachers to create an inclusive and culture-sensitive classroom. Teachers can construct good experiences that respect diversity, encourage respect, and are helpful for understanding by the students. Let’s make use of Harmony Day as a building block for a schoolwide culture where all the students feel valued and included.