Class Assignments: Cultural Awareness

CULTURAL AWARENESS OF SPANISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES

CLASS DESCRIPTION:
No textbook. No homework. All materials are supplied each week in class, however students are expected to keep materials in a notebook and bring it to class each week. Students are graded in participation as they learn about different Spanish-speaking countries: customs, traditions, legends, myths, social etiquette, holidays, foods, political structures, educational opportunities, and location on a map. Simple vocabulary words or phrases will be presented every 2 weeks, through children's songs & games, also with hispanic roots. A short quiz every other the week reminds the students what has been presented.

CULTURAL AWARENESS CLASS ESSAY

Periodically you will be required to write an essay about the material presented in this class.

DETAILS: Write 2-page essay in English, (double-spaced)using full sentences, correct grammar describing the cultural awareness you have gained, and the information you have learned about Spanish-speaking countries. You could easily write a paragraph about each country we have studied and accomplish the 2 page requirement. Another idea would be to write a paragraph about each activity in which you participated in class. There are special social customs you have learned, (for example; the etiquette connected with Yerba Mate.) Describing a game or dance could be another paragraph. I've included a list of information you might want to include. Some of these items may not be enough for an entire paragraph. Try to compare and contrast with our American customs, traditions, and culture. (ie. "In America we usually eat at 6:00, but in Peru, they eat much later.")

Information is not limited to, but may include:

- name of a country
- historical information (battles, revolutions, government, settlements)
- heroes (name, what they accomplished or attempted to)
- legendary figures (from myths, stories, & legends)
- monetary units
- myths, legends (characters, moral or lesson from story)
- customs (from any aspect of life)
- foods & recipes (your impressions of the food)
- meal customs (how often, times, table manners)
- indigenous people (history, language, customs)
- geographic interests (places of interest, to visit, unique to the area)
- songs (the background, if it has any special meaning, who sings it, to whom it is sung)
- games (how to play them, how much fun they were, why they were played,
- dances (background, why, etc..)
- music (songs, dance music, instruments, time period, historical background. )
- education laws (ages required, cost, etc..)