March 2005
An enewsletter for CultureGrams™ subscribers
This month's Culture Matters enewsletter will help teachers, librarians, administrators, and students stay informed about the world's cultures, while providing classroom resources and giving tips for using CultureGrams. Check out our online archive for access to past issues.
Regional Focus
This month: Western Europe
Next month: Central America and the Caribbean
In this issue:
- Notes for CultureGrams Users
- Did You Know?
- Holiday Focus/Upcoming World Holidays
- Teaching Idea: Model European Union
- Western Europe Quiz
- Cultural Wisdom: Western European Proverbs
- In the News: Denmark Faces Headscarf Issue
- Email Service Information
1. Notes for CultureGrams Users
Trying to cook up a new activity to keep students involved in culture? Take advantage of the Recipe Collection available in the online database. In the collection, you'll find five recipes for each of the 182 CultureGrams reports. Each of the recipes is representative of a common or traditional type of food eaten in the country it is associated with.
Not only can you or your students actually create the foods listed in the recipes, but you can use them in a number of other teaching activities. For example, use the measurements listed in the recipes to study fractions, or examine how the ingredients used in the foods can give you a clue as to which natural resources are available in the country. You can access the recipes database here.
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2. Did You Know? Tidbits from CultureGrams
- When eating a meal in France, it is impolite to put your hands in your lap.
- Ireland's constitution prohibited divorce until 1995.
- To wish for good luck, Germans don't cross their fingers; instead, they “press the thumb” (fold a thumb in, and close fingers on it).
- Many of the world's favorite sports, including football (soccer), boxing, and tennis, were developed in England.
- Every physically fit male is required to serve in the Swiss Army, even though Switzerland is a neutral nation.
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3. World Holidays
Holiday Focus: St. Patrick's Day in Ireland
St. Patrick's Day is an important holiday in Ireland. Celebrated on 17 March, it honors Ireland's patron saint. St. Patrick is known mostly for being a missionary who helped convert Ireland to Christianity. Legends surrounding St. Patrick also involve him chasing all the snakes out of Ireland and using a three-leaf shamrock to explain the concept of the Trinity. Hundreds of years ago, the Irish decided to honor St. Patrick with a day of spiritual renewal and prayers offered for missionaries. These days the holiday is a celebration of all things Irish. People hold street parades (the largest is in Dublin) and eat traditional meals of boiled bacon and cabbage.
Some Upcoming World Holidays:
Wales – Patron Saints Day – 1 March
Also known as St. David's Day in honor of Wale's patron saint; not an official holiday but celebrated in schools with music festivals.
Malawi – Martyrs' Day – 3 March
Honors those who gave their lives in the 1963 quest for independence.
International Women's Day – 8 March
Kazakstan (as well as several other European and African countries): Women and girls get a day off and receive flowers and presents from loved ones.
Namibia – Independence Day – 21 Mar.
Celebrated with dance competitions, fireworks, and concerts.
Lesotho – Tree Planting Day – 21 Mar.
Government sponsors tree-planting projects to provide future building and fuel supplies and to guard against erosion.
Virgin Islands – Transfer Day – 31 Mar.
Celebrates the islands' transfer from Danish rule to U.S. rule.
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4. Teaching Idea
Note: This activity can be adapted for use with any world region.
Summary: Students learn about the European Union and then participate in a model EU to debate issues facing the group.
Curriculum standards: Conforms to the National Council for the Social Studies' curriculum standards for Power, Authority, & Governance (VI. a.): Examine persistent issues involving the rights, roles, and status of the individual (or individual nation) in relation to the general welfare; (VI. c.): Analyze and explain ideas and mechanisms to meet needs and wants of citizens, regulate territory, manage conflict, establish order and security, and balance competing conceptions of a just society; (VI. f.): Explain conditions, actions, and motivations that contribute to conflict and cooperation within and among nations.
Materials: CultureGrams World Edition, World map (to be used as a reference tool for discussion), and news articles on issues facing the EU. Additional research may be necessary to help create a lively debate.
Instructions:
1. Briefly introduce students to the history and purpose of the European Union. (With roots in organizations dating back to the 1950s, the multinational umbrella government sets policies on everything from the economy to health. The organization has grown from 6 countries in the 1950s to 25 countries in 2005.)
2. On a map, show the students the member countries (Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). Also indicate the candidate countries (Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey).
3. Organize students into a model EU, with most of the class representing the member countries and a few representing the candidate countries. Each student should be assigned to represent a specific country, either an EU country or a candidate country. In order to participate in this activity, students should also read the CultureGrams report of the country they represent (and that of at least one of the candidate countries) so that they can support their country's interests in a debate.
4. Have the students each bring in at least one news article about an issue facing the EU. It might deal with new member states, economic policy, or how to govern the EU.
3. After this initial preparation, pick three main topics to be debated, with at least one topic being the admission of new member countries. Have students representing the member countries and candidate countries debate the pros and cons of admitting the new nations. Presentations should focus on the positive aspects of the countries and on what they can contribute to the European Union as a whole. Then have presentations on the other issues.
After all the presentations have been given, have the students vote on the topics. They should be able explain the rationale for their decisions to the class.
Follow-up:
1. Lead a follow-up discussion about what the students learned from the Model EU.
2. Have students follow EU related news stories for a specified period of time.
How do you use CultureGrams? Submit your teaching ideas using CultureGrams today!
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5. Quiz
1. What country was divided into two separate nations from 1949 until 1989?
2. Which country is Western Europe's largest?
3. What is the common currency used by most Western European nations?
4. Which Western European nation has the highest per capita GDP in the world?
5. Which tiny country did not allow women to vote until 1984?
Answers: 1) Germany was divided into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, or West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany). 2) France is the largest at 211,208 square miles (547,030 square kilometers). Spain, Sweden, and Germany follow closely behind; however, no nation in Western Europe is larger than the U.S. state of Texas. 3) The Euro 4) Luxembourg, at $61,100 per person (compared to $35,750 for the United States or $520 for Sierra Leone). 5) Liechtenstein.
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6. Cultural Wisdom: Proverbs
Note: You could write one of these on the blackboard every week, discuss how proverbs reflect cultural values, or ask students to find an English proverbial equivalent.
L'abito non fa il monaco. (Italy)
The habit does not make the monk. (You can't judge a book by its cover.)
Aithníonn cíaróg cíaróg eile (Ireland)
One beetle recognizes another. (Birds of a feather flock together.)
Cadelas apressadas parem os filhos cegos. (Portugal)
Hurried mother dogs give birth to blind young. (People in a hurry do poor work.)
Secret de deux, secret de Dieu; secret de trois, secret de tous. (France)
A secret between two people is a secret with God; a secret among three is a secret the whole world knows.
Besser ein Spatz in der Hand, als eine Taube auf dem Dach. (Germany)
A sparrow in the hand is better than a pigeon on the roof. (A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.)
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7. In the News: Denmark Faces Headscarf Issue
In January, the Danish Supreme Court ruled that a supermarket chain had the right to fire a young Muslim woman who wore a headscarf to work. The woman, who had worked as a cashier, claimed discrimination and wrongful dismissal. However, the court ruled the company had the right to specify the appearance of its employees, which outweighed the right of the employee to wear religious garments.
The incident is representative of the dilemma that faces many European governments. Although they welcome diversity of society, they feel strongly that they must protect their secular traditions of political and religious neutrality. The headscarf issue has also been quite controversial in France.
To read more about the people of Denmark, access the Denmark CultureGrams report.
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8. Email Service Information
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Cordially,
Your ProQuest K-12 Team
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