Etymology of names This lesson features an introduction to etymology and sources of first names in different cultures. Greek names

are first analyzed and then names of foreign students (immigrants) in our school in an attempt to share our roots. Students understand how names reveal our identities in an attempt to foster respect for individual worth and human dignity. Through analyzing primary source documents students discuss what it means to be renamed when immigrating to another country, and also the difference between cultural assimilation and multiculturalism.

Lesson Plan

Activity 1: Learning About Your Own Name

Activity 2: What’s In a Name – Foreign names: their sources and meanings

Activity 3: Losing a Name, Choosing Another

Activity 4: Discuss the difference between cultural assimilation vs. multiculturalism

Homework

PPPs with the etymology and history of names.

Cross-cultural fables

This lesson explores parallel fables and folktales from various cultures. While each culture and geographic region of the world has its own body of folk tales and fables that considers "its own," certain themes, plots, characters and motifs tend to be repeated across many countries and time periods. Fables-as-culture-models tend to take on the ‘color’ of the location they are told while trying to teach universal lessons about human emotions such as love, hate, courage, kindness, and foolishness.

Activities:

Activity 1: Listening to a Greek fable and answering general comprehension questions

Activity 2: Reading two fables and filling in a Storyboard. Retelling the fables.

Activity 3: Filling Idea Wheels for three fables. Comparing and contrasting.

Activity 4: Answering questions about the cultural features of the fables

Activity 5: Looking at the stories through the Feminist and the Marxist perspective

Activity 5: Writing an original modern fable to go with a moral.

Air Castles:Folktales about daydreams of wealth and fame

1. The Milkmaid and Her Pail (Greece, Aesop)

2. The Broken Pot (India, The Panchatantra).

3. The Dervish and the Honey Jar (Jewish).

4. The Barber's Tale of His Fifth Brother (1001 Nights).

5. The Lad and the Fox (Sweden, Gabriel Djurklou).

6. The Peasant and the Cucumbers (Russia, Leo Tolstoy).

Homework: An Anthology of fables, Famous Fabulists (PPPs)

Download Fairytale Mp3 Select Az - MP3 Ringtone Fairytale Mp3 Select Az by Alexander Rybak Mp3.select.az - Free Music Hosting.mp3

Coffee culture around the world

Going for coffee involves more than just consuming the beverage itself. It is a small social event as part of everyday life. Countries have formed their own rituals around coffee, each region’s coffee taste acknowledged as being related to its history, work habits and style. Coffee is directly connected to hospitality in home and commercial settings. Thus, it can be studied as a multicultural experience. Coffee and health, or benefits and risks of drinking coffee is integrated in this lesson as it is taught within the realm of Health education.

Activity 1: pictures of coffeehouses around the world

Activity 2: texts about coffee culture in various countries

Activity 3: quotations of famous people or sayings about coffee

Activity 4: discussion about coffee and health

Homework

A poster that illustrates benefits and potential risks of drinking coffee.

A questionnaire about coffee culture or coffee and health

Where maths meets fiction

This lesson uses an ethnomathematics approach to the teaching of maths and especially addresses students who experience difficulties in learning mathematics, students who find it irrelevant to their interests, or are from different cultures. Through reading a maths novel, ‘Uncle Petros and Goldbach’s Conjecture’(2000) by Apostolos Doxiadis, students deal with Mathematics in context as they are introduced to maths fiction, and can connect maths to other subjects. Students benefit from reading fiction or writing out math concepts rather than simply solving problems.

Activity 1:

QUICK DEBATE: ‘Being a Genius Is Due to Hard Work, Not High IQ’ vs ‘Some geniuses have average IQ’

Quotations about geniuses

Read online biographies of famous mathematicians

Activity 2

Information about how prime numbers are used in everyday life

The Sieve of Eratosthenes

Exercises with prime numbers

Goldbach’s Conjecture in popular culture (films, TV series, etc)

Homework

A maths autobiography or a history of your feelings about maths

Play some online games with secret codes and messages

Nationality of films

Films reflect the cultures and nations in which they were produced. Hollywood films reflect certain things about the American nation's culture: love of distraction, attraction to adrenaline and testosterone, good’s triumph over evil, and belief that things work out in the end. Other cultures and nations have different values and so produce different sorts of films.

National cinema is seen as a medium of promoting local culture, cultural diversity and national specificity, reflecting on the nation itself, its cultural heritage, its indigenous traditions, its sense of common identity and continuity. National films display the nation’s culture to the world when screened abroad.

Films are a collaborative medium, and a lot of people, sometimes from different nationalities, have a hand in determining the final product of film (co-productions).

Activities Which factors define the nationality of a film? (Language, Cast, Crew, Filming location(s), Music/soundtrack, Costumes

Story line/ Topic, Script, Audience, Genre, Values/outlook of life, Financing, Country of production)

Look at the ‘Brides’ homepage and find information about the nationality of the above.

http://thecia.com.au/reviews/b/images/brides-nyfes-production-notes.pdf

Read the reviews about Brides (see Worksheet) written by various viewers in The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Find out whether the reviewers are Greek, Greek of the diaspora, not Greek.

Which cultural phenomenon does the film reflect? Is it national or transnational? Suggest some topics that the national cinema of other countries would deal with.

Homework Write a movie Synopsis

Stereotypes and prejudices

The general concepts of stereotypes, scapegoats, prejudices, and discrimination are explored in a manner which will enable students to understand behavior and to condemn such behavior which is inappropriate in a modern, pluralistic society.

Students will learn how to challenge bias, unfairness and stereotypical views while developing cross-cultural awareness and understanding

Activity 1

Students complete the questionnaire ‘I’m not a racist but…. Then they compare their answers and discuss if there

is any prejudice and bigotry in their answers or in those of their classmates. Gossary of important terms

Activity 2

Students write down five or six stereotypes for their own nationality. Was it easy to find them?

Students read the leaflet ‘THE PERFECT EUROPEAN SHOULD BE...’ Find which of the words in the glossary can apply to the leaflet

Activity 3

Students read extracts from the Greek Constitution to find values inherent in it (e.g., freedom, liberty, justice, truth, equality) and discuss how prejudice, discrimination, and bigotry promote values which run counter to the Greek Constitution.

Discussion

Homework

a. Keep a log of your television watching for one day, and record in it all instances you believe a character is being treated as a stereotype. b. Interview one of your classmates that comes from another country.

Exploring values and cultural diversity

A workshop in which participants play two games that introduce the issues of values and diversity. They learn that people come from varied backgrounds and have different experiences, values, and cultural orientations. These games and exercises end in a discussion about diversity issues, and the need for peer theatre to be age appropriate and culturally appropriate.

Participants consider the diversity of the audience when developing messages because every audience is unique in some way.

Participants learn to be inclusive, respect the fact that many in the audience will be dealing with family and personal issues (such as divorce, difficulty staying in school, sexual identity, relationships, etc.) and try to ensure that theatre pieces do not alienate those who may be different from them.

Game 1

Exercise: ‘Take a Stand’ /Trainer reads aloud some statements and asks participants to take a stand by agreeing or disagreeing. If they are unsure, they can stand in the center of the room – the unsure zone, but only for one of the statements.

Exercise: ‘Take a Stand Discussion’

Game 2

Exercise: ‘Crossing the Line’/ Trainer reads a list of personal descriptions. If any participants think the description fits them and they feel comfortable identifying themselves, they can cross the line, turn around, and face the rest of the group. Because some of these descriptions may be highly personal, participants have the choice not to cross the line (and remain in place), even if the description fits them.

Exercise: ‘Crossing the Line Discussion’