Make a book for each student by stapling four to five pages of blank white paper together. Cut pictures of people in traditional clothes out of magazines or download some from the Internet. Place an assortment on each table. Have your students pick out four or five and glue them into the books. Work with each student to guess where the subject of the picture is from and label the pictures accordingly. Students are not likely to know the places without help, but a child can guess if it is a warm or cold place and may recognize some cultural features. You can help them narrow down a place. During circle time, ask students to share the books and talk about the subjects' clothes and cultures.
Provide a bin of fabric scraps. Try to include different weights as well as different textures, such as fur, silk, velvet and cotton. Challenge the kids to find fabrics that go with different climates. For example, describe a sunny, warm place and encourage kids to pull out the lightweight fabrics that people might want to wear in the desert. Show pictures of people wearing different textures and challenge kids to find matching scraps. Try to copy some of the styles with the fabric pieces. Turbans, belts, robes and scarves all are easily copied by children, so include pictures of people wearing these items.
Read stories about people living in different climates. Talk about how different clothes help keep people warm or cool, depending on their needs. Hats, for example, can keep your head toasty-warm if they are knit but keep you cool by shading your face if they are wide-brimmed and lightweight. Play a guessing game about what kinds of hats, shirts, pants or skirts people might want in different places. For example, you might contrast furry Russian hats with Vietnamese straw hats.
Invite your students to play a dress-up game. Ask them why they think different people wear the things contained in your dress-up box. A crown, for example, is worn by royalty. We don't have royalty in America, but people still wear crowns in other countries, such as England. Using articles of clothing that your students are interested in will help keep them engaged in the lesson. Ask a student what she wears to go someplace special. Then show the class what people in other countries might wear. For example, in Japan, women still sometimes wear kimonos and Indian women's saris can be quite elaborate.