Give each student a passbook stamped with various countries and have the children explore the art of each country they are "visiting." Have the children cut out or draw pictures of structures around the world, such as the Eiffel Tower, a pagoda or an adobe home. Complete the activity by allowing the students to pick their favorite country and draw or sculpt their own piece of art in the style of that country or culture.
Teach children to appreciate each other by having students cooperate to create mosaics or colorful mobiles. A favorite activity is to place a large piece of paper on the floor and have children draw on it, but give them the instruction that their work needs to connect to the next student's drawing. For example, a student may draw a bridge that connects to the town being drawn by the next student.
To emphasize the beauty of diversity, give each student two sheets of paper. On the first sheet, ask them to draw a picture with just one crayon. On the second sheet, instruct students to create a picture with as many colors as they wish to use. Ask them to compare the pictures, and discuss how much more interesting the pictures with multiple colors are. Use the discussion to draw comparisons to the many different kinds of people in their classroom and community.
Celebrate commemorative months with art projects. Commemorative months celebrate nearly every racial, ethnic and gender minority, and art instructors can base art projects on the themes of these months. Each month lends itself to art activities such as designing and sewing native garb in August in celebration of American Indian Heritage Month or dramatizing important events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and designing scenes for February's Black History Month program. Many schools run a poster contest to see which student best illustrates the contribution of women in American history during Women's History Month each March.
Another idea is to create a classroom quilt by having students decorate patches illustrating an important diversity theme and then stitching the different patches all together. The school can display the students' quilts and invite community members to come and see them.
Ask students to design a creative public service ad campaign to spread the word against an unfair practice in their school. Have the students come up with creative slogans and artwork to post around the school to send a message against those behaviors. For example, the art campaigns could target intolerant or discriminatory behavior they have witnessed, such as name calling, teasing, ostracism or fighting.
Give older students a chance to make multimedia art by creating a documentary that they script and edit. For example, task students with walking in the shoes of someone who often faces discrimination. For example, a student could ride in a wheelchair for a day, wear a "fat" suit in public or take classes with students with special needs at another school. Have students videotape their experiences and produce a short film expressing how they felt during the experience.