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Overview:
This lesson asks students to think about how cultural customs differ throughout the world. Students will research a foreign culture's customs and write stories pretending they are on vacation with a friend from the country they have researched. They and their friend will travel to a new country that neither person is familiar with, and students will describe each person's reactions to the new culture and how these reactions differ based on each person's own cultural customs and habits.
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, social studies, history, art
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 4: "The physical and human characteristics of places"
Time:
Two to three hours
Materials Required:
- Computer with Internet access
- Construction or poster paper
- Markers or colored pencils
Objectives:
Students will
- discuss the topics they would include in a Culture Shock! book for the United States;
- research other cultures and take notes on their customs;
- discuss what they have learned from their research; and
- write stories pretending they are on a trip with a friend from the country they have researched, visiting a country that neither person is familiar with and describing their reactions to the new culture.
Geographic Skills:
Acquiring Geographic Information
Organizing Geographic Information
Answering Geographic Questions
Analyzing Geographic Information
S u g g e s t e d P r o c e d u r e
Opening:
Tell the class that there is a book series entitled Culture Shock! (Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company) that describes the cultural characteristics of various countries. The books discuss topics such as how people greet each other, customs used at the dinner table, and business etiquette. This type of book can be helpful for people who are visiting a country for the first time or who have to move to that country for work.
Development:
Ask students to discuss what they would include in a similar book for the United States. Would everyone from the United States agree about how our culture "works?" Remind students that the U.S. is a very diverse country with many different cultures, and that different people in the U.S. might have very different ideas about what is culturally acceptable.
Ask students to research another culture on the Internet or in the library and find out about that culture's customs. A few Web sites to look at are:
On the Line
Peace Corps Kids World
ThinkQuest: Cultural Connections
Have students take notes on the customs they learn about. For each cultural custom, ask them to list the ways in which their own culture does things differently or the same.
Have students imagine that they are going to join a person from the culture they have studied on a trip to another country with which neither of them is familiar. Students should decide what that foreign country will be and write stories about their first day in the country.
The stories should explain how each person reacts to the new culture and what customs and behaviors each person brings into the new culture. Students may need to conduct some very basic research on the new country to make sure they understand a few things about its culture and the things they would do on their first visit there.
Discuss students' stories and the things they have learned from this activity. What is "culture shock," and how do people from different cultures react when they encounter new cultures? Do all people experience new places in the same way, or are there differences in the way people might behave in new places they visit? How does the country and culture one comes from affect the way that person will behave in a new country?
Closing:
Ask students to look at some of the Web sites depicting the wonders of the world or at pictures of the wonders in magazines or books. They can find some ideas for wonders, and some pictures, at the links on the Wonderworld activity.
Suggested Student Assessment:
Have students, either individually or in small groups, design architectural or engineering "wonders" that would be suitable for their own home region. What do they think such a wonder would look like? What would its purpose be? What type of statement would it make about the region? In order to determine what the wonder should be, students should use the Internet or the library to research the history, native cultures, and demographics of their region.
Extending the Lesson:
Have students draw their wonders on paper and write captions explaining the reasons they have chosen to design the wonder in this way. Their captions should include an explanation of how the region's history, native cultures, and current demographics are reflected in the wonder.
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