BRIDGES - Peace Corps Lesson Plans On Culture

Building A Peace Corps Classroom Guide
To Cross-Cultural Understanding
Bridges
Paul D. Coverdell
worldwise
schools
The Peace Corps National Geographic Society
The Peace Corps is an independent agency of the U.S. govern- Education Foundation
ment that was established through the vision and efforts of The National Geographic Society Education Foundation
President John F. Kennedy, who challenged Americans to dedi- works to prepare children to embrace a diverse world, succeed
cate two years of their lives to helping people in developing in a global economy, and steward the planet’s resources. It
countries. The Peace Corps mission is to promote peace and grants more than $5 million a year toward hands-on learning
friendship by making available willing and qualified U.S. citi- opportunities, teacher training, enhancement of geography in
zens to interested countries to achieve the following three goals: curricula, and employment of educational technology. For more
• To help the people of interested countries in meeting information, go to www.nationalgeographic.com/foundation.
their need for trained men and women
• To help promote a better understanding of Americans Credits and Acknowledgments
on the part of the peoples served The producers of this volume,Wayne Breslyn,Roger B.Hirschland,
• To help promote a better understanding of other peoples and Cerylle Moffett, wish to acknowledge the efforts of the fol-
on the part of Americans lowing in writing, editing, design, and production of Building
Bridges: A Peace Corps Classroom Guide to Cross-Cultural
Since the first group arrived in Ghana in 1961, Peace Corps Understanding: Raquel Aronhime, Laurette Bennhold-
Volunteers have served in more than 130 countries. Although Samaan, Nancy Coratti, Cori Lazar, Trisha Tumulty Flaccus,
programs vary from country to country based on the host nation’s J. Randy McGinnis, Emmy Scammahorn, Robert Soderstrom,
needs, Volunteers traditionally offer skills in education, Craig Storti, and Krystal Williams. For reviewing the manu-
agriculture, small-business development, community script, we extend sincere gratitude to the following teachers:
development, the environment, and health. Amy Cohen, Mary Shanley Gates, Nancy Hadley, Pam Hall,
Mary C. Hasemeier, Douglas Keating,Andrea Kiely, Eileen Mat-
Coverdell World Wise Schools tingly,Amy Moncion, Dany Ray,Anita Sanyal, and Maureen
An innovative global education program of the Peace Corps, Shanley. The Peace Corps also wishes to acknowledge the
Coverdell World Wise Schools (CWWS) seeks to engage U.S. conceptual contributions of Barbara Graves, Heidi Hayes
students in inquiry about the world, themselves, and others, Jacobs, Jay McTighe, and Grant Wiggins. Photography credits:
in order to Shawn Davis (cover, left center); Roger B. Hirschland (cover:
• Broaden perspectives; top center; bottom, second from left); Kristine Garman (cover,
• Promote cultural awareness; right bottom); other photos courtesy of the Peace Corps.
• Appreciate global connections; and
• Encourage service. This publication contains materials written by educators and
others that represent their individual views. These views are not
Since the program’s inception in 1989 at the initiative of late official opinions of the U.S. government or of the Peace Corps.
Peace Corps Director and U.S. Senator Paul D. Coverdell, more
than 2 million students in all 50 states have communicated
directly with Peace Corps Volunteers all over the world. Initially
set up as a correspondence match program between Volunteers
and U.S. classes, CWWS has expanded its scope by providing a
broad range of resources for educators—including award-
winning videos, teacher guides, classroom speakers, a Paul D. Coverdell
newsletter, an array of curriculum resources, and a website.
For more information about Coverdell World Wise Schools, worldwise
schools
see www.peacecorps.gov/wws/.
ISBN 0-9723579-0-4
C o n t e n t s
I n t r o d u c t i o n ........................................................................................... 3
Unit I: Culture in the United States

Lesson 1: Introducing Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Lesson 2: Features of Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Worksheet #1: Features of Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Worksheet #2: Everyone Has a Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Lesson 3: Defining Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Lesson 4: Culture Is Like an Iceberg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Unit II: Culture Beyond the United States

Lesson 5: On Being Seen as Different. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Lesson 6: Americans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Worksheet #3: Americans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Worksheet #4: Explanatory Notes for “Americans”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Lesson 7: Generalizations: How Accurate Are They?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Worksheet #5: How Accurate Are They?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Lesson 8: Interpreting Behavior: Expanding Our Point of View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Worksheet #6: Understanding Cultural Viewpoints (Part 1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Worksheet #7: Understanding Cultural Viewpoints (Part 2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Lesson 9: Resolving a Cross-Cultural Misunderstanding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Worksheet #8: Jogging Alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Lesson 10: Seeing Both Sides of an Issue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Lesson 11: A Fundamental of Culture—Cultural Context. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Lesson 12: Brief Encounters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Lesson 13: Window Into Another Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Reading: “A Single Lucid Moment”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Appendix: Taking Action—Additional Ways to Become Involved. . . 46
Coverdell World Wise Schools 1

Introduction
Why This Workbook? Quotes for Thought
The lessons in this book will
• Help students better understand their own culture and how it has Each night I sit with these four
shaped them. old men and learn their lan-
• Help students begin to understand the perspectives of other cultures, guage. We go over simple
leading to increased respect for those who are different from them—in
phrases like,“How is the body?”
the classroom and worldwide.
“The body is well.” “I tell God
• Provide an increased awareness of the value and practicality of social
service within and beyond the bounds of schools. thank you.” But it is this small
effort that brings us together.
Why Culture-Related Lessons? —Returned Peace Corps
Simply put, understanding the concept of culture facilitates living with others Volunteer, Sierra Leone
of different backgrounds—within the classroom, in the local community, and
on the worldwide scale of political, social, and economic interaction.
If you talk to a man in a lan-
Who Is This Book For? guage he understands, that
This book is designed for easy adaptation by teachers in grades 6 through 12. goes to his head. If you talk to
him in his own language, that
Where Did the Lessons Come From? goes to his heart.
The lessons are adapted from the Peace Corps’ cross-cultural training work-
—Nelson Mandela,
book Culture Matters, designed for Peace Corps Volunteers; and from Insights Former President, South Africa
from the Field, Looking at Ourselves and Others, and Voices from the Field, all of
which are Coverdell World Wise Schools curriculum resources designed for
classroom use. These publications are available for free downloading from the
Web.We hope that you will use them to build on the lessons offered here. For a
complete list of these publications and their Web addresses, see page 6.
What’s the Peace Corps’ Role?

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy launched the Peace Corps to promote un-
derstanding between the predominant culture in the United States and cul-
tures around the world—in addition to providing assistance to developing
countries.
Since then, almost 200,000 Americans have lived and served overseas in
more than 130 countries.With its cumulative experience and its ongoing mis-
sion, the Peace Corps is uniquely positioned to offer lessons that promote cul-
tural understanding.

Introduction (continued)
What’s for Younger Students? For Older Students?

• Middle school: Teachers may find lessons 1–5, 7–9, and 13 more suited to students in
grades 6–8.
• High school: All lessons in this workbook can be adapted easily for use in grades 9–12.
Terms in the Margins

Throughout this book, two terms—enduring understandings and essential questions—are
used to focus lessons on the “big ideas” about culture. They are derived from the curriculum
design framework Understanding by Design, developed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe
(Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development [ASCD], 1998).
Enduring understandings are important ideas or core processes that have lasting
value beyond the classroom.An enduring understanding is what we want students to un-
derstand and be able to use years from now, after they have forgotten the details. Example:
—Understanding someone from another culture can be difficult because people see the
world, themselves, and others in fundamentally different ways.
Essential questions are provocative queries designed to guide teaching and provoke
students’ interest. They are open-ended and do not have obvious right answers.
Examples:
—Why doesn’t everyone see things the way I do?
—How do my beliefs and values influence the way I behave?
—Is there a set of common American beliefs and values?
The Major Enduring Understandings Addressed in This Book:

• Everyone has a culture. It shapes how we see the world, ourselves, and others.
• Culture is like an iceberg. Some aspects are visible; others are beneath the surface.
Invisible aspects of culture influence and cause the visible ones.
• Understanding someone from another culture can be hard. People really do see the
world in fundamentally different ways. People behave as they do because of the things
they believe in and value.
• It’s easy to misinterpret things people do in a cross-cultural setting. To keep from mis-
understanding the behavior of others, you have to try to see the world from their point
of view, not yours.
• Crossing cultures isn’t easy. It’s a complex process in which understanding the context
is everything.
• Understanding and respecting cultural differences can lead to greater harmony in
school, the community, and the world.
See Insights from the Field, Unit 2: Culture, for an in-depth treatment of these enduring
understandings (www. peacecorps.gov/wws/guides/insights/).
4 Building Bridges A Peace Corps Classroom Guide to Cross-Cultural Understanding

Standards: The lessons in this workbook can be used to help students achieve the social
studies standards and the national geography standards listed below.
Social Studies Standards,

National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
■ Culture (NCSS Theme I)
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of culture
and cultural diversity so that the learner can
• Compare similarities and differences in the ways groups, societies, and cultures meet
human needs and concerns.
• Explain how information and experiences may be interpreted by people from diverse
cultural perspectives and frames of reference.
■ Individual Development and Identity (NCSS Theme IV)

Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of individ-
ual development and identity so that the learner can
• Identify and describe ways in which regional, ethnic, and national cultures influence
individuals’ daily lives.
• Identify and describe the influence of perception, attitudes, values, and beliefs on
personal identity.
■ Global Connections (NCSS Theme IX)

Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of global
connections and interdependence so that the learner can
• Explain how language, art, music, belief systems, and other cultural elements can
facilitate global understanding or cause misunderstanding.
National Geography Standards

■ Places and Regions (Essential Element II)
The geographically informed person knows and understands
• How culture and experience influence perception of places and regions (Standard 6).
■ Human Systems (Essential Element IV)

The geographically informed person knows and understands
• The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth’s surface
(Standard 9).
• The characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth’s cultural mosaics
(Standard 10).
• The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth’s surface
(Standard 11).

Introduction (continued)
• The processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement (Standard 12).

• How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and
control of Earth’s surface (Standard 13).
The following publications, produced by the Peace Corps, may be downloaded free from the
Coverdell World Wise Schools website (www.peacecorps.gov/wws/).
• Insights from the Field: Understanding Geography, Culture, and Service, on the Web at
www.peacecorps.gov/wws/guides/insights/
• Culture Matters: The Peace Corps Cross-Cultural Workbook, on the Web at
www.peacecorps.gov/wws/culturematters/
• Voices from the Field: Reading and Writing About the World, Ourselves, and Others, on the
Web at www.peacecorps.gov/wws/guides/voices/
• Looking at Ourselves and Others, on the Web at www.peacecorps.gov/wws/guides/looking/
I I I I I I I I

Unit I
Culture in the United States
Lesson 1: Introducing Culture Enduring Understanding:
• Everyone has a culture.
Materials It shapes how we see the
• Paper and pencils world, ourselves, and others.
Objective Essential Questions:
• Students will be able to describe how the concept of culture relates to their • How does culture shape the
own experience. way we see the world,
ourselves, and others?
Introduction
• How does my culture shape
When teaching about culture, keep in mind that culture is just one of numerous me?
influences on behavior. People can differ from each other in many other aspects,
• Why is it important to
e.g., personality, age, gender, level of education, abilities, and any other personal
understand culture?
features that make each individual a unique human being.We need to be careful
of overgeneralizing or making statements like:“She’s an American, so that explains
why…”; or “He’s from New York, so that explains why…”; or “He’s a Canadian,
so that explains why….” Cultural groups do have certain characteristics in
common. But within each group, there is always a broad range of individual
differences.
Students might ask why people from the United States would need to have
their culture revealed to them—isn’t their own culture pretty obvious? But
people within a culture are in many ways the least able to see it. Cultural beliefs,
values, and behaviors are so ingrained that we are often unaware of our own.
Instructions
1. Ask students to imagine that they are extraterrestrials—peaceful, intelligent
creatures from another planet who have been given the mission of spending a
week researching life in your community and school. Their mission is to find
answers to the following questions: What is unique, different, or interesting
about your school and community? What explains why humans in your com-
munity and in your school think and act the way they do? The extraterrestri-
als are expected to return to their home planet to report their observations
and findings.
2. Ask students to work in groups of three or four to discuss and write down
observations extraterrestrials would make about life in their community.
Provide several examples, such as:
Lesson 1: Introducing Culture (continued)
• “People live in small groups in houses or apartments. Children live with older people.”
• “Young people spend their days together in buildings in large groups.”
• “Young people dress in several styles that are different from each other.”
• “Older people dress differently from kids.”
• “Older people teach younger people what is expected.”
• “People eat together, usually sitting around a table.”
• “People look at watches and clocks a lot.”
• “There are lots of cars. They drive on the right side of the road. People seem to know
when to stop and go by obeying colored lights.”
• “When people meet, some hold hands and shake them up and down. Others put their
arms around each other.”
Tell students that an important part of the extraterrestrials’ mission is to answer these
questions:
• What is important to human beings?
• Why are some things about human beings the same, and why are some things different?
• Why don’t all people think and act the same way?
• What are the rules? How are they learned?
• What shapes how human beings see the world, themselves, and others?
3. Once students have shared their observations and questions in class discussion, ask them
to step out of their role as extraterrestrials and now think about themselves.Ask students
to take home the following questions and discuss them with their families.What explains
• How and why they dress the way they do?
• How and why they celebrate certain holidays?
• The foods they eat and the way they’ve been taught to eat them?
• What is the polite thing to do?
• The traditions in their family?
• What is important to them?
• What influences and shapes the way they think and act?
4. The following day, have students discuss their answers in class. Explain to the stu-
dents that we call these types of influences in our lives “culture.” Introduce students
to the enduring understanding: Everyone has a culture. It shapes how we see the
world, ourselves, and others.

Lesson 2: Features of Culture Enduring Understanding:
• Worksheets #1 and #2 for each student world, ourselves, and others.
Objectives Essential Questions:

• Students will be able to explain some of the features of their own culture. • How does culture shape the
• Students will be able to describe their impressions of how the culture of the United way we see the world, our-
States has shaped them. selves, and others?
• How does my culture
Instructions shape me?
1. Write the following statements on the board: • Why is it important to
• No one is exactly like me. understand culture?
• I have many things in common with the members of my family and community.
• Every person in the world needs some of the same things I need.
2. Point out to students that people in various groups often look at people in other groups as
“different.” Ask students whether they have seen this occur in their school or community. If
so, why has it happened?
3. Ask students to describe some of these differences. Then ask why people in one group
might behave differently from people in another group.
4. Explain that many differences are related to culture—beliefs and ways of living that are
handed down from one generation to the next.
5. Working from the statements on the board, explain that all people share basic needs, and ask
students for several examples (e.g., food, shelter, love, respect). In addition, each of us learns a
set of behaviors and beliefs from the people we grow up with. Ask students for examples
(e.g., the manners we’re taught, the way we celebrate holidays, how we are expected to be-
have toward neighbors). Finally, each individual has unique talents and preferences.Again,
ask students for examples (e.g., I’m good at math, I’m good at soccer, I don’t like chocolate).
6. Explain that when we talk about behaviors and beliefs that a group of people have in com-
mon (not individual talents and preferences), we are talking about culture.
7. Now have students look at some of the features of culture. Provide each student with a copy
of Worksheet #1, Features of Culture. Ask the students to complete the worksheet by filling
in an example for each feature of culture.Work through a few of the features with the stu-
dents to ensure they understand that they are being objective observers of their own
taken-for-granted customs.

Lesson 2: Features of Culture (continued)
8. Take the five features of culture that follow and ask students to discuss the following ques-
tions about these features:
• Celebrations: What kinds of celebrations are important in your family? In the United
States?
• Greetings: How do you generally greet people you don’t know? People you do know?
• Beliefs about hospitality: How do you show hospitality in your community? In your
school? In your home?
• The role of family: Is there a particular age at which you celebrate an important event in
your life with your family or community?
• Attitudes about personal space and privacy: How important do you feel it is to have
personal space and privacy?
9. Conduct a class discussion:

• What conclusions can you begin to draw about the culture of the United States?
• What are your impressions about how U.S. culture has shaped you?
10. Review Worksheet #2, Everyone Has a Culture—Everyone Is Different, with students. For
homework, ask students to complete Worksheet #2. This will help them identify unique
aspects of their own culture. Students will follow up on this worksheet in class in Lesson 3.
///////

Worksheet #1: Features of Culture
Directions: For each feature of culture, think of one example common to people in the United States
or in the country where you were born. Use another sheet of paper if you need more space to write.
1. Styles of dress 16. Concept of fairness
2. Ways of greeting people 17. Nature of friendship
3. Beliefs about hospitality 18. Ideas about clothing
4. Importance of time 19. Foods
5. Paintings 20. Greetings
6. Values 21. Facial expressions and hand gestures
7. Literature 22. Concept of self
8. Beliefs about child raising (children and teens) 23. Work ethic
9. Attitudes about personal space/privacy 24. Religious beliefs
10. Beliefs about the responsibilities of children and teens 25. Religious rituals
11. Gestures to show you understand what has been told to you 26. Concept of beauty
12. Holiday customs 27. Rules of polite behavior
13. Music 28. Attitude toward age
14. Dancing 29. The role of family
15. Celebrations 30. General worldview

Worksheet #2:
Everyone Has a Culture—Everyone Is Different
Directions: Respond to each question. Use another piece of paper if you need more space.
1. What languages do you speak? 6. How often do you see your extended family (for example,
grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins)? What role do
they play in your life?
2. What music do you listen to? What dances do you know?
7. What holidays and ceremonies are important in your family?
3. What foods do you eat at home?
4. In your family, what is considered polite and what is consid- 8. Describe something very important to you. It could be a
ered rude? What manners have you been taught? (Think value, such as respect or honesty. It could be a person,
about such things as table manners, behavior toward guests such as a parent, brother, sister, or friend. It could be a
in your home, what to say when answering the telephone, goal, such as going to college or designing a website. It
how to say thanks for a meal.) could be a hobby.
5. What do you wear on special occasions? 9. Based on what you’ve written, how would you describe the
characteristics of the culture you’re a part of?

Lesson 3: Defining Culture Enduring Understanding:
• Paper and pencils world, ourselves, and others.
Objectives Essential Questions:

• Students will be able to further describe how their culture has shaped them. • How does culture shape the
• Students will be able to define the concept of culture. way we see the world, our-
• Students will be able to explain some of the attributes of culture. selves, and others?
• How does my culture
Instructions shape me?
1. If students have not done Lesson 2, ask them to take Worksheet #2 home and fill it out for this
lesson.
2. Have students form small groups and compare their homework responses to Worksheet #2.
After the groups compare their responses, ask:
• Were your responses to the questions exactly alike? Quote for Thought
• What differences did you find among responses?
• How can you explain the differences? Reality is a product of
3. Explain to students that their responses to the worksheet questions were partially shaped by language and culture; that’s
the culture in which they were raised. Make the point that if these questions were given to what I learned.
students from another culture, their answers would be different because they have grown up
in a different culture. Perhaps they have already found significant differences among their —Richard Wiley, Returned
small groups. Peace Corps Volunteer, Korea
4. Write the enduring understanding for this lesson on the board: Everyone has a culture. It
shapes how we see the world, ourselves, and others.Ask students now to address these ques-
tions:
• What is culture?
• How does it shape the way we see the world, ourselves, and others?
5. Write the word “culture” in bold capital letters across the board.Ask students as a class to
come up with a definition. They may find it easier to list aspects of culture—different elements
that are true of culture—than to come up with a full definition. Such a list might include:
• Culture has to do with values and beliefs.
• Culture involves customs and traditions.
• Culture is collective, shared by a group.
• Culture is learned.
• Culture influences and shapes behavior.
• Culture is transmitted from generation to generation.
• Culture is often unconscious; people are sometimes not aware of how their behaviors and
attitudes have been shaped by their culture.
• People in all cultures have common needs.

Lesson 3: Defining Culture (continued)
6. Then provide the following definition:

• Culture is a system of beliefs, values, and assumptions about life that guide behavior
and are shared by a group of people. It includes customs, language, and material
artifacts. These are transmitted from generation to generation, rarely with explicit
instructions.
7. Use the following questions to focus discussion on the role culture plays in forming our be-
haviors and beliefs:
• How do you think you learned your culture?
• How do you think your culture has shaped you? How has it influenced your values, pref-
erences, and beliefs?
• Despite the differences in culture in our classroom, what are some things that everyone
in our classroom has in common?
• How does culture shape the way we see the world, ourselves, and others?
Taking Action
If you have a multicultural class or have international exchange students in your school, help
your class develop a project to foster better understanding and communication among the
students. Have students research the customs and culture of the groups that are represented in
your classroom or school. Invite the students to plan ways to help students from other cultures
feel more welcome.
E E E E E E E

Lesson 4: Culture Is Like an Iceberg Enduring Understandings:
• Everyone has a culture. It
Materials shapes how we see the world,
• Outline drawing of an iceberg for each student ourselves, and others.
• Worksheet #1: Features of Culture • Culture is like an iceberg.
Some aspects are visible, and
Objectives others are beneath the surface.
• Students will be able to distinguish between the visible and invisible aspects of culture. Invisible aspects influence and
• Students will be able to explain how the invisible aspects of culture influence the visible cause the visible ones.
ones.
Essential Questions:
Instructions • How do the invisible aspects
1. Before beginning this lesson, remind students that of culture influence the visible
• Culture is a complex concept. ones?
• Everyone has a culture. • Why is it important to under-
• It shapes how we see the world, ourselves, and others. stand the relationship between
the two?
2. Explain that metaphors often help us understand big ideas by relating something we don’t
know to something we do know.A useful metaphor for culture is an iceberg.Ask students
what they know about the size and shape of icebergs. How much of an iceberg is above the
water? How much is underwater?
3. Make the point that only about one-eighth of an iceberg is visible above the water. The rest
is below. Culture is very similar to an iceberg. It has some aspects that are visible and many
others that can only be suspected, guessed, or learned as understanding of the culture
grows. Like an iceberg, the visible part of culture is only a small part of a much larger
whole.
4. Ask students to look back at Worksheet #1, Features of Culture. Review with students that
the numbered items on the list are all features of culture. If students haven’t completed the
worksheet, make sure that they understand all the features on the list.Ask them for exam-
ples, or provide examples if needed.
5. Provide students with a copy of an outline drawing of an iceberg with a clear line delineat-
ing the part of the iceberg that is above the water’s surface and the larger part that is below
the surface.
6. Divide students into groups of four.Ask them to bring the Features of Culture worksheet
with them. Have them discuss in their groups which features of culture they think are visi-
ble and which are invisible.

Lesson 4: Culture Is Like an Iceberg (continued)
7. Ask students to look at both their outline drawing of the iceberg and their Features of Culture
worksheet.Have them review the features one by one and decide as a group if a particular fea-
ture belongs above the line (i.e.,is “visible”) or below the line (i.e.,is “invisible”).Have students
write above the water line the numbers of those features of culture that they,as a group,con-
sider to be observable features.They should write the numbers of the “invisible”features below
the water line.Do the first few features with them. Provide examples, e.g., styles of dress are
visible; beliefs about hospitality cannot be directly observed.
8. After students have had time to work in groups on the remaining features, have each group
pair with another group and compare their placement of features. Students must be pre-
pared to say why they placed a particular feature where they did. (Note: In the list of fea-
tures, the numbers that should appear below the water line are #3, #4, #6, #8–10, #16–18,
#22–24, #26–30.)
9. Ask students whether they see any item below the water line that might influence or deter-
mine any item above (e.g., ideas about modesty might affect styles of dress; religious be-
liefs might influence holiday celebrations, painting, and music).
R R R R R R R

Unit II
Culture Beyond the United States
Lesson 5: On Being Seen as Different (Part 1) Enduring Understandings:
• Understanding someone from
Materials another culture can be hard.
• Paper and pencils People really do see the world
in fundamentally different
Objectives ways. People behave as they do
• Students will be able to explain why understanding someone from another because of the things they be-
culture can sometimes be hard. lieve in and value.
• Students will be able to give examples of how people see the world, them- • To understand another culture,
selves, and others in fundamentally different ways. you first have to understand
your own.
Introduction • Beliefs vary from person to
This lesson and those following are designed to guide students to the under- person and culture to culture.
standing that individuals from other cultures may not see the world in the same
way that Americans do.What Americans may regard as different or strange may
be considered perfectly normal in another culture. Students will realize that un-
derstanding someone from another culture can sometimes be hard because peo- • How does it feel when others
ple see the world, themselves, and others in fundamentally different ways. Stu- see you as different—or as an
dents will explore answers to the questions: How does it feel when others see you outsider?
as different or as an outsider? How do others feel when you see them as different? • How do your beliefs, values,
How do beliefs, values, and cultural upbringing influence the way people behave? and cultural upbringing influ-
What is cultural stereotyping, and how can it be avoided? ence the way you behave?
• How do others’ beliefs, values,
As they explore these questions, students will achieve a broader perspective on and cultural upbringing influ-
their own culture and an increased sensitivity to the customs, values, and beliefs ence the way they behave?
of other cultures. This new awareness should help them become more under-
standing of students in their own school who may have come from a culture
other than their own.
Instructions
1. Give students about 15 minutes to write answers to the following:
a) How does it feel to be seen by others as different—as an outsider?
Describe such an experience.
b) Describe an instance when you considered someone else to be
different—or an outsider. Explain what led you to that judgment.

Lesson 5: On Being Seen as Different (Part 1) (continued)
Quote for Thought 2. Ask students to compare their written responses to question (b) with those of a partner.
3. Ask for volunteers to share their responses with the whole class. Summarize the responses
Remember that just as you on the chalkboard. Remain nonjudgmental about the responses students give.
judge others from your 4. Explain that people in one culture—the United States, for example—often think someone
cultural standpoint, you are from another culture is different because of differences in language, clothing, customs, be-
being judged from theirs. havior, or beliefs. However, people from the other culture may think U.S. citizens are differ-
ent for the very same reasons.
—Returned Peace Corps
Volunteer, Fiji Islands One easy example may serve to make the point immediately.Ask students if they know someone
from another country who has an accent.Point out that each person who hears an accent in some-
one else will likewise be perceived by the other person as having an accent herself or himself.For
example,an American student talking with someone from Scotland and hearing a strong Scottish
accent will be heard as having a strong American accent,even if it is not a particularly regional
American accent.
5. Read aloud the anecdote “Where There’s a Will,” below.When you are finished reading, ask the
students to try to sum up what was occurring in the communication between the two people.
6. Read aloud or have students read the dialogue “Interview With a Peace Corps Volunteer:
On Being Viewed as Strange,” on page 21.
7. Make the point that to understand another culture, you first need to understand your
own—and see yourself as others might see you.
Where There’s a Will

The scene is a cafe in Tangiers. Tomorrow is Saturday. I’ve just invited a Moroccan friend to a picnic at the beach.Will
he come? “Perhaps,” he says in English, translating from the Arabic inshallah, which literally means “If God is willing.”
I’m feeling hurt.What does he mean,“Perhaps”? Either he wants to come or he doesn’t. It’s up to him. If he doesn’t want
to come, he only has to say so. He doesn’t understand why I seem upset, and I don’t quite grasp “Perhaps.” Our two cul-
tures confront each other across the teacups.
Only several years later, reading a book about culture, did I understand. He would come, he meant, if Allah willed it.
His wanting to come and his being permitted to come were not one and the same. In Morocco, unlike in America, where
there’s a will there is not necessarily a way. So who was I to demand an answer to my questions? And who was he to
give one?
—Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Morocco

Lesson 5: On Being Seen as Different (Part 2)
1. Read “Home Alone in the Dominican Republic” (on page 20) aloud to your students. Ex-
plain that the anecdote, told by a Peace Corps Volunteer, illustrates how American behavior
can be seen as different or strange in another culture.
2. Ask students to describe what they think are one or more cultural values in the Dominican
Republic, based on what they learned from this passage.
3. Ask students to imagine that they are Peace Corps Volunteers in Krystal Williams’
situation. How would they handle the cultural differences respectfully? List students’
responses on the chalkboard. Elicit a number of alternatives for handling a delicate situa-
tion with respect.
4. Ask students to write and perform a brief skit about some aspect of Krystal’s situation.
Have them form groups of four. Ask a volunteer from each group to play the role of Krystal
or someone like her. The other three members of each group will play the role of Domini-
cans. Have all four members of each group write the skit together.
Give students the following guidelines:
• The skit should illustrate exactly what the cultural differences are and why.
• The skit should contain a respectful resolution of the conflict caused by individuals
from each culture seeing the same situation in a different way.
• The skit should not oversimplify the problem.
5. Give students 15–20 minutes to prepare their skits. Then ask for volunteers to act them out.
6. Debrief the students by asking what they have learned from their skits.Ask them to list in
writing things they realized from their skits that they hadn’t thought of before.
Taking Action
students. Some ideas for action:
• Conduct a survey to determine what communication difficulties, if any, exist among
students of different cultural backgrounds. Have students devise ways to resolve these
difficulties.
• Invite returned Peace Corps Volunteers or parents of international students to speak to
your students and share information about the language, culture, and customs of their
countries. For a source of more ideas, to get in touch with individual guests, to join the
correspondence match program of the World Wise Schools program, or to subscribe to
correspondence from the Peace Corps’ CyberVolunteer program, visit the Coverdell
World Wise Schools website at www.peacecorps.gov/wws/.

Home Alone in the Dominican Republic
I was sometimes considered odd or strange in the Dominican Republic in terms of my being used to having private space. For example,
there would be times when I would want to sit down by myself in my own room and just read a book.And anytime I was reading a book,
my Dominican neighbors always assumed I was studying. It was completely outside the realm of possibility for them that anyone would
choose to sit alone, all by themselves, and read for pleasure. Often they would stop by with some food to “help me study.” This would
inevitably lead to long conversations. From the Dominican point of view, this was a gesture of hospitality.And Dominicans place a great
value on hospitality.Another example of my being considered “odd” was the fact that I lived alone and that, at times, I wanted to be by
myself. It was hard for my Dominican neighbors to understand this.Very few, if any, people live by themselves in the Dominican
Republic. Everyone has a family or is connected to a family or lives with a family or an extended family. If I wanted to be alone, they
would think I was sick and send someone over to stay with me. If I wanted to be alone much of the time, they would think I was rude or
ignoring them, and their feelings would be hurt.
—Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Krystal Williams, Dominican Republic

Interview With a Peace Corps Volunteer:
“On Being Viewed as Strange”
Use this interview in Lesson 5, Part 1. Adapted from the Peace Corps publication Culture Matters.
You can find the full text of this publication on the Web: www.peacecorps.gov/wws/culturematters/.
Interviewer: When you went to the Dominican PCV: That’s what I experienced, anyway.
Republic, were there any surprises?
Interviewer: I wonder why.
Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV): Not really. I
mean, you’re not prepared for every little thing, for PCV: I think it has to be that while you are actually
all the particulars. But you know the people are having the experience of their strangeness, they
going to be different, so you expect that. You may are the ones having the experience of yours. You
not know all the ways they’re going to surprise never really experience yourself as strange, of
you, but you do know you’re going to be surprised course, so it just doesn’t seem real. You know it
when you go to a foreign culture. must be real, but you have to take their word for it.
Interviewer: How did the Dominicans react to Interviewer: So you think it’s hard for Peace
you? Corps Volunteers to believe that the local people
don’t always understand them?
PCV: It’s funny you should ask that, because that
was surprising. PCV: Despite all our training, I think we uncon-
sciously tend to believe that we are the “normal”
Interviewer: What do you mean? ones and the people in the other country are going
to be the “strange” ones. Then, when you get to the
PCV: Well, we thought we were prepared for going other country, you realize that people see the
into a culture different from ours, but we weren’t. world, themselves, and others in fundamentally
After all, if you go in knowing these people aren’t different ways. The hard thing is learning to see
like you, then of course you also know that you things from their point of view.
aren’t like them. But we had trouble believing that
they found us strange sometimes. Doesn’t make Interviewer: Why is that hard?
sense, does it?
PCV: Because before you go to another country,
Interviewer: So it’s easy to accept that other peo- you tend to believe that your point of view is the
ple might be strange, but hard to believe that you only point of view—and that it’s the right point of
could be perceived of as strange? view. It’s hard to realize that there may be two
equally reasonable ways to view a situation, de-
pending on your culture.

Enduring Understandings: Lesson 6: Americans (Part 1)
• To understand another culture,
you first have to understand Materials
your own. • Worksheets #3 and #4 for each student
• Beliefs vary from person to
person and culture to culture. Objectives
• Students will be able to explain how people from other cultures may view Americans as
Essential Questions: a group as being different from themselves.
• How does it feel when others • Students will be able to explain why understanding their own culture can help them
see you as different—or as an better understand another culture.
outsider?
• How do your beliefs, values, Instructions
and cultural upbringing influ- 1. Ask students: “What are some things about our lives that you value? How do these impor-
ence the way you behave? tant things shape your behavior?” Then explain that people behave as they do because of
• How can you avoid cultural the things they believe in or value. On the chalkboard, write the following values that some
stereotyping? people from other cultures have noticed are common to many Americans:
• Informality (being casual and down-to-earth)
• Self-reliance (not looking to others to solve your problems)
• Efficiency (getting things done quickly and on time)
• Social equality (treating everyone the same)
• Assertiveness (saying what’s on your mind)
• Optimism (believing that the best will always happen)
Quote for Thought 2. Explain that not everyone in the world shares these values.Ask students whether they
Coming from brash America, think every person in America shares these values. Does everyone in the classroom share
these values?
we have to look hard to pick
3. After a brief discussion, tell the students that they will read about behaviors that others
out the subtle feedback we
have noticed about Americans. In some sense, these behaviors are examples of stereotypes
don’t even realize we’re that others harbor about Americans.
being given. 4. Provide each student with a copy of Worksheet #3, Americans. Explain that each of the
seven statements may be true for all Americans, for some Americans, or for no Americans.
—Returned Peace Corps It is the students’ job to decide whether each statement is fully accurate, partially accurate,
Volunteer, Fiji Islands
or false.
5. Have students work in pairs to complete Part 1 of Worksheet #3 in writing.
6. Ask students to complete Part 2 of Worksheet #3. Then have students share their responses
to Part 2 in small groups.
7. Lead a class discussion. Explain that the students may not like or agree with some of the
stereotypes others have of Americans, but they should at least be aware they exist. For an
explanation of each of the seven statements, you may want to provide students with Work-
sheet #4, which presents the reasons that some cultural anthropologists give as to why
Americans may come across to others the way they do.

Worksheet #3: Americans
(Adapted from the Peace Corps publications Culture Matters and Insights from the Field. You can find the full texts
of these publications at www.peacecorps.gov/wws/culturematters/ and www.peacecorps.gov/wws/guides/insights/.)
Part 1: Working with a partner, read each of the seven comments below that a non-American might make about an
American. For each of the comments, give a good reason, in writing, for why you think this comment might
be true for all Americans, true for some Americans, or true for no Americans.
1. Americans are always in such a hurry to get things done!
2. Americans insist on treating everyone the same.
3. Americans always have to say what they’re thinking!
4. Americans always want to change things.
5. Americans don’t show very much respect for their elders.
6. Americans always think things are going to get better. They are so optimistic!
7. Americans are so impatient!
Part 2: Now, looking at one of the comments above, answer the following questions:
• How would you feel if this statement were made about you?
• What would be a polite response if someone said it to you?

Quote for Thought Lesson 6: Americans (Part 2)
It’s just not in their culture to 1. Explain that Worksheet #4 provides explanations that some scholars have given for why
tell or even suggest what they Americans often behave and think the way they do. No statement in this lesson is true of
think you should do. Even all Americans.Within any culture there are wide variations of behavior simply because
when you are asking for there are so many factors—in addition to culture—that can cause an individual to behave
in a certain way (e.g., age, gender, personality, experience).
advice, I don’t think they feel
2. It’s important to remember that no one American is quite like any other American, but
comfortable giving it. The
core values and beliefs do underlie and permeate the national culture. These values and
direct American style is often beliefs don’t apply across the board in every situation, and Americans may, on occasion,
taken as impolite. even act in ways that directly contradict them. But they are still at the heart of cultural be-
—Returned Peace Corps
liefs of many people in the United States.
Volunteer, Papua New Guinea 3. Explain that if the statements about “Americans”were actually meant to apply to all Ameri-
cans, this would be an example of cultural stereotyping.Ask students: How would you feel if
someone from another country had stereotypes about you before the person even knew you?
Taking Action
1. Have students in your class teach or tutor younger children who are from a different
culture—including language skills, math, reading, or craft work. Tutoring non-English-
speaking students in English is always helpful and a great way for your students to serve
others while building self-esteem.
2. Encourage students to interview local immigrants about aspects of American culture that
the immigrants have found different, strange, or tough to adjust to while living in the
United States.Ask students to include any concepts from this booklet that have played a
role in the immigrants’ lives. Have the students present their findings to the class. Then
have them develop a plan for helping the immigrants they interviewed become more com-
fortable in the United States. The report could also be prepared for online or print distribu-
tion, with sensitivity to protecting the privacy of the interviewees. (You may wish to con-
sult Insights from the Field, pages 127–129, for a step-by-step guide for students who want
to undertake this project. Insights can be downloaded free from the Coverdell World Wise
Schools website at www.peacecorps.gov/wws/guides/insights/.)
T T T T T T T

Worksheet #4:
Explanatory Notes for “Americans”
Directions: Below are reasons some cultural anthropologists have offered to explain why Americans may
come across the way they do to people from other cultures. As you are reading each explanation, think about
whether or not you agree with it. Is the explanation true of all Americans, some Americans, or no Americans?
1. Americans are always in such a hurry to get things done!

Americans often seem this way because of their tendency to use achievements and accomplishments as a measure of a person’s
worth. They’re in a hurry to get things done because it’s only then that they feel they have proven their worth to other people.
The more Americans accomplish, the more they feel they are respected.
2. Americans insist on treating everyone the same.

Americans do this because of our cultural roots as a free nation (e.g., “All men are created equal”). Americans have a deep
cultural instinct toward social equality and not having a class system. This is a reaction to the European class system as well
as the feudal system that existed in Europe. In cultures where inequality between social classes is more accepted, American
insistence on egalitarianism, or social equality, may be annoying.
3. Americans always have to say what they’re thinking!

Americans believe that being direct is the most efficient way to communicate. It’s important to “tell it like it is” and “speak
your mind”—to say what you mean and mean what you say. Being direct is often valued over “beating around the bush.”
Americans value assertiveness and being open and direct about one’s thoughts and feelings. Not all cultures have this same
value. In some cultures, the normal way to disagree or to say no is to say nothing or be very indirect.
4. Americans always want to change things.

Americans think things can always be better, and that progress is inevitable. The United States is a little more than 200 years
old, and American culture tends to be an optimistic one. Older cultures are more skeptical because they have been around
longer, have experienced more, and have been in situations in which progress was not always made. In American businesses,
being open to change is a strong value, because things really do change quickly, and it is necessary to adapt. Many Americans
believe it is “good” to initiate change and “bad” to resist it.
5. Americans don’t show very much respect for their elders.

Americans believe people must earn by their actions whatever regard or respect they are given. Merely attaining a certain age
or holding a certain position does not in itself signify achievement.
6. Americans always think things are going to get better. They are so optimistic!
America, because of its resources and successes, has always had a culture of optimism. Americans believe that they are in con-
trol of their own destinies, rather than being victims of fate. Many Americans tend to believe that “the American dream” can be
achieved by anyone who is willing to work hard enough. Many Americans believe that the only obstacle to things getting better
is “not trying hard enough.” Americans also believe that a personal lack of determination or effort can be fixed. Other cultures
may believe more in fate (“what will be will be”). When something bad happens, some members of these cultures believe it was
fated to happen, must be accepted, and cannot be changed.
7. Americans are so impatient!

Americans believe that if things take a long time to do, they won’t be able to do enough of them. Many Americans believe that
more and faster is better. They do not like to stand in line and wait, and they originated fast food. Americans believe that getting
things done (and doing them quickly) may be more important than other things. Many other cultures believe that slower is better
and that building and maintaining relationships takes priority over getting things done at the expense of relationships.

Enduring Understanding: Lesson 7: Generalizations: How Accurate Are They?
• Understanding the importance
of qualifying a generalization Materials
can help prevent stereotyping. • Worksheet #5 for every two students
• Pencils and paper
• What do we gain from qualify- Objective
ing a generalization? Why • Students will learn to recognize and modify generalizations.
bother doing it?
• What are some ways we can Introduction
avoid stereotyping other peo- This lesson introduces students to the concept of generalization as it applies to cultural
ple who are different from us? stereotyping. The goal is to have students challenge generalizations made about people, insist
on knowing the evidence that supports these, and be willing to modify their own generaliza-
tions when confronted by evidence showing them to be false. It is important for students to
understand that almost all generalizations, particularly those about people and other cultures,
need to be qualified. The lesson also asks students to practice using qualifying language.You
may want to relate this lesson to Lesson 6, on making generalizations about Americans.
Instructions
1. Explain the meaning of “general” and “specific” using objects in the room or pictures to
illustrate your point (e.g.,“This horse is black” versus “All horses are black”).
2. Write this statement on the board:“Snakes are harmful.” Ask students to write at the top of
a sheet of paper whether they agree or disagree with the statement. Then read each of the
following questions aloud. Have students number 1 through 7, then write “yes” or “no” in
response to each question.
1.Are all snakes harmful?
2.Are most snakes harmful?
3.Are many snakes harmful?
4.Are some snakes harmful?
5.Are a few snakes harmful?
6. Do you know everything about snakes?
7. Is the statement “Snakes are harmful” true?
3. As a class, address the following questions:

• How many students agreed with the statement on the board at first? How many stu-
dents answered no to the seventh question? If you changed your mind, what made you
do so?
• What words can you add to the statement “Snakes are harmful” to make it more accu-
rate (e.g., some snakes, many snakes, a few snakes in Asia, many snakes in Australia)?
• What can you add to the statement to show that you don’t have a lot of factual informa-
tion about snakes (e.g., as far as I know, I’m not sure, in my experience)?

Lesson 7: Generalizations: How Accurate Are They? (continued)
4. Have students work in small groups to evaluate the accuracy of the generalizations listed
on Worksheet #5. Encourage them to discuss their reasoning and come to consensus on
each statement. Then have students work in pairs to rewrite each statement using qualify-
ing phrases like those suggested above so that each statement is accurate.
5. As a class, discuss the conclusions of each group, paying close attention to how the state-
ments were qualified.
Debriefing
Use the following questions to guide a brainstorming session to help students recognize gen-
eralizations and begin using qualifying language.
1. Have you ever heard anyone use a generalization to describe you or another person? How
does it feel when someone does that?
2. What happened when we used a generalization to describe snakes? Was the statement ac-
curate? What happened when we used qualifiers to describe snakes? When you filled out
the worksheet, which statements were more difficult to evaluate—the statements about
things or the statements about people?
3. What are some ways we could complete the following sentences?

• We should try not to use generalizations because _________ .
• It is important to use qualified statements because _________.
4. What can you do if you hear someone using generalizations to describe a person or a
group of people? (Help students articulate some nonconfrontational ways to respond to
generalized descriptions.)
5. How can being alert to generalizations help us avoid stereotyping individuals from other
cultures—or individuals different from ourselves?
Taking Action
Invite students to challenge generalizations in their daily lives.Ask students to think about
generalizations and stereotypes they might use sometimes in casual conversations with
friends. List some words that often appear in students’ casual conversations that can be hurt-
ful to others.Ask students to substitute more accurate and qualified statements for these
words. Challenge the students to model culturally sensitive behavior for their friends and family.
Ask them to observe how many of their friends and families modify their word choices.
Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

Worksheet #5: How Accurate Are They?
Directions: Read each of statements 1–10 carefully. Then, for each statement, ask yourself questions like
the examples below and put a check in the appropriate column to indicate which column best applies to each
statement.
• Are all (or almost all) baseballs white?
• Are most baseballs white?
• Are some baseballs white?
• Are few baseballs white?
All or Most Many Some Few Don’t

almost all know
1. Baseballs are white.
2. Elephants are strong.
3. Fish have gills.
4. Spiders are poisonous.
5. Candy is bad for your teeth.
6. Babies cry.
7. Politicians are dishonest.
8. Teachers are smarter

than children.
9. People who are quiet are shy.
10. Poor people are lazy.

Lesson 8: Interpreting Behavior: Expanding Our Point of View Enduring Understanding:
• It’s easy to misinterpret things
Materials people do in a cross-cultural
• Worksheets #6 and #7 for each student setting. To keep from misun-
derstanding the behavior of
Objectives individuals from another cul-
• Students will know that understanding another culture involves being able to interpret ture, you have to try to see the
behaviors, customs, actions, and practices from more than one point of view. world from their point of view,
• Students will know that any behavior has to be interpreted in two ways: the meaning not yours.
given to it by the person who does the action and the meaning given to it by the person
who observes the action. Essential Questions:
• Students will be able to explain how various people may interpret the same reality • Why might it be possible for
in different ways. me to misunderstand individ-
• Students will practice the skill of interpreting a situation from two different points uals from another culture?
of view. • How can I learn to see things
from another culture’s point of
Introduction view? Why is it important?
This lesson and the next ones are designed to help students see a situation from two points of
view. In doing this, they will begin to understand the importance of being able to see things
from another culture’s point of view. They will learn that understanding another culture in-
volves being able to interpret behaviors, customs, actions, and practices from that culture’s
perspective, not their own. In the process, they will learn that no two people see the same
thing in exactly the same way—even if they are part of the same culture. Students will prac-
tice viewing a situation from another culture’s point of view. Quote for Thought
Instructions [The Peace Corps experience]
1. Ask students whether they have ever had the experience of going to a movie or watching a stretched our view of the world
video with a friend and, at the end of the movie, each person thought different things in and then focused it, mightily
the movie were important, funny, sad, boring, or interesting. precisely.
2. Ask students how two people can watch the same movie and see different things.
—P.F. Kluge, Novelist
3. Now, on an overhead projector, if possible, show the class a complex scene with many and returned Peace Corps
things happening—from a painting, advertisement, book illustration, or other source that Volunteer, Micronesia
none of the students has seen before.Ask the students to concentrate carefully, and expose
them to the scene for exactly 10 seconds, and not longer. Then ask several students, in
turn, to report what they saw.Ask them to be specific about details, and invite other stu-
dents to offer their recollections or interpretations if they saw things differently. Students
are likely to see and interpret different details—just as witnesses to crimes and accidents
often differ as to the details of what they saw fleetingly.
4. Follow these first two activities with a class discussion. Lead students to the awareness that
no two people see the same thing in exactly the same way.All people bring to a situation
their own values, beliefs, and life experiences—and powers of observation.
5. Explain that we all believe that we observe reality—things as they are.But what actually hap-
pens is that the mind interprets what the eyes see and gives it meaning.It is only at this point,
Lesson 8: Interpreting Behavior: Expanding Our Point of View (continued)
when meaning is assigned,that we can truly say we have seen something.In other words,what we
see is as much in the mind as it is in reality.If you consider that the mind of a person from one
culture is going to be different in many ways from the mind of a person from another culture,
then you have the explanation for that most fundamental of all cross-cultural issues: the fact that
two people looking upon the same reality,the same example of behavior,may see things very
differently.
6. Make the point that any behavior observed by two people from different cultures has to be
interpreted in two ways:
• The meaning given to it by the person who does the action
• The meaning given to it by the person who observes the action
Only when these two meanings are the same do we have successful communication—
successful in the sense that the meaning that was intended by the doer is the one that was
understood by the observer.
7. Now have students participate in a lesson that will help clarify these concepts. Distribute
copies of Worksheet #6, Understanding Cultural Viewpoints (Part 1), and have the students
complete the worksheet.
8. Ask students to discuss their answers to the questions in groups of three. Have them note
similarities and differences in their responses to each question.After five minutes of small-
group discussion, ask students whether all three students in each group shared exactly the
same response.Were their viewpoints similar, was there some variation, or were they quite
different? Explain that it is rare that three people will have exactly the same opinion on a sub-
ject. Opinions might be similar, but not identical—or, depending on the makeup of your
class, they might be distinctly different.
9. Reinforce the idea that if two people from the same culture often view a situation in different
ways, it is even more likely that two people from different cultures will view a situation differ-
ently. Culture exerts a powerful influence on our point of view.
10. Now have students complete Worksheet #7, Understanding Cultural Viewpoints (Part 2). In
their same groups of three, ask the students to compare their responses to the same ques-
tions, but now with the knowledge of the cultural context.Ask how their responses changed.
11. Explain to students that if they were to go to another culture, they would need to be careful
not to make judgments about a particular behavior or custom until they understood the cul-
tural context—and the reasons that behavior was accepted as “normal.”
12. Remind students of the point made in Lesson 6, Americans: We always view something as
“normal” based on a certain standard. In the case of Americans, the standard is American
culture.When in the presence of another culture, we have to set aside what the standard for
normal is in our own culture and try to understand the reasons something is accepted as
normal in another culture (according to that culture’s standard).
Taking Action
Have students choose a current world event or a historical event and write articles on the event
or issue from two perspectives, representing opposing points of view or points of view that rep-
resent different countries. One topic might involve students adopting Native American versus
Euro-American perspectives on an issue, past or present.
30 Building Bridges A Peace Corps Classroom Guide To Cross-Cultural Understanding

Worksheet #6:
Understanding Cultural Viewpoints (Part 1)
(Adapted from the Peace Corps publications Culture Matters and Insights from the Field. You can find the full texts
of these publications at www.peacecorps.gov/wws/culturematters/ and www.peacecorps.gov/wws/guides/insights/.)
Directions: Read the description of the seven behaviors below and write down your immediate response
or interpretation. (This will reflect your own cultural values, beliefs, or perceptions.) The first one offers
an example of a possible answer.
1. A person comes to a meeting half an hour after the scheduled starting time.
Your response or interpretation:
(Sample response: This person is late and should at least apologize or give an explanation.)
2. Someone kicks a dog.

3. A woman carries a heavy jug of water on her head while her husband walks in front of her carrying nothing.
4. A male guest helps a female host carry dirty dishes into the kitchen.
5. A young man and young woman are kissing each other in public.
6. While taking an exam, a student copies from the paper of another student.
7. A guest at a dinner party belches aloud after the main course.


Worksheet #7:
Understanding Cultural Viewpoints (Part 2)
Directions: In this part of the lesson, imagine how some of the same behaviors would be perceived or inter-
preted by someone from a culture different from your own. A different cultural trait is described in each case.
Read each behavior and the description of the culture, and then write in the space provided how you think a per-
son from such a culture would interpret that behavior. If you need more space, use the other side of this page.
1. A person comes to a meeting half an hour after the scheduled starting time. How would this act be interpreted
. . . by someone from a culture where it is normal to arrive half an hour—even two hours—after the scheduled
starting time?
The response or interpretation:
(Sample response: It’s no big deal. We’ll start when everybody’s here.)
2. Someone kicks a dog. How would this act be interpreted . . . by someone from a country where dogs tend to
carry disease and food is scarce?
3. A woman carries a heavy jug of water on her head while her husband walks in front of her carrying nothing. How
would this be interpreted . . . by someone from a culture where carrying water is a woman’s responsibility?
4. A male guest helps a female host carry dirty dishes into the kitchen. How would this act be interpreted . . .
by someone from a culture where men are not expected to clean up after a meal?
5. A young man and young woman are kissing each other in public. How would this act be interpreted . . .
by someone from a culture where men and women never touch in public?
6. While taking an exam, a student copies from the paper of another student. How would this act be interpreted . . .
by someone from a culture where it is expected that you help a friend succeed, and sharing is the norm?
7. A guest at a dinner party belches aloud after the main course. How would this act be interpreted . . .
by someone from a culture where belching is the normal way to express pleasure about food?

Lesson 9: Resolving a Cross-Cultural Misunderstanding Enduring Understanding:
• It’s easy to misinterpret things
Materials people do in a cross-cultural
• Worksheet #8, paper, and pencils setting. To keep from misun-
• Copy of the checklist (page 34) for each student derstanding the behavior of
others, you have to try to see
Objectives the world from their point of
• Students will understand that cross-cultural misunderstandings are common view, not yours.
occurrences.
• Students will identify a solution to a cross-cultural misunderstanding. Essential Questions:
• How can I learn to see things
Instructions from another culture’s point of
1. Tell students that they will now read about the way in which individuals in the Dominican view? Why is this important?
Republic misunderstood an American Peace Corps Volunteer who was doing something • If you did develop this skill,
that in the United States is perfectly normal. how could it lead to greater
harmony and understanding
2. Give students a copy of Worksheet #8, Jogging Alone. (The anecdote describes an incident right in your own school?
involving a Peace Corps Volunteer, who had one way of looking at a situation, and her
neighbors, who interpreted the situation differently.)
3. Ask students to read the Peace Corps Volunteer’s account.Ask them to think about how
they might solve the dilemma as they read. Then ask students to work in pairs to respond
to the questions on the worksheet.
4. When students have had sufficient time for discussion, elicit responses to each question.
Allow time for differing responses to be considered.
5. Ask each of the students to pretend they were the Peace Corps Volunteer in the jogging in-
cident. Have each student (in the role of a Peace Corps Volunteer) write a letter home to a
parent describing the incident and how it was resolved.
6. Provide students with a checklist of what to include (sample, page 34) before they begin
writing their letters. Have students exchange the first draft of their letters with another stu-
dent for peer review and feedback. (The review and feedback should be based on the
criteria in the checklist.) Then have students revise and polish their letters.
7. Have students share their letters with a new partner. Then ask for volunteers to read their
letters to the class.

Lesson 9: Resolving a Cross-Cultural Misunderstanding (continued)
Quote for Thought 8. Students have just had practice in trying to see the world from another culture’s point of
view.Ask them in what ways developing this skill might lead to greater understanding
Expect to feel embarrassed, right in their own school.
foolish, and sometimes inade-
quate. It’s all part of the expe- Note: To give students additional experience in resolving cross-cultural misunderstandings,
rience. These trying times are use Voices from the Field on the Web at www.peacecorps.gov/wws/guides/voices/. Under Peace
what we eloquently call “ad- Corps Stories, have students read “Cross-Cultural Dialogue,” by Roz Wollmering (page 33), and
justment.” They’re difficult, follow up under Reading and Responding to Literature with the lesson plan for this story
(pages 106–117).
natural, and useful.
—Returned Peace Corps Taking Action
Volunteer, Kenya Help your class develop a project to foster better understanding and communication among
the students in your school. Conduct a survey to determine what communication difficulties,
if any, exist among students of different cultural backgrounds within your school. Invite stu-
dents to devise ways to resolve these difficulties. Examples:
• Students facilitate a cross-cultural communications workshop with the help of inter-
ested teachers and community members.
• Students role-play a cross-cultural misunderstanding and its thoughtful resolution at a
school assembly.
Checklist for Letter Home

■ You have described the jogging incident in a factual manner.
■ You have described your own needs and feelings.
■ You have described the needs and feelings of the Dominicans in a way that is
respectful of their culture.
■ You have explained what you did to resolve the problem in a way that is re-
spectful of the Dominican culture.
■ Your letter is organized into paragraphs in logical order, and you have used
correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Worksheet #8: Jogging Alone
An account of a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in the Dominican Republic
When I first arrived in my village in the would happen four or five times as I tried
Dominican Republic, I began to have a to continue jogging. They even began
problem with my morning jogging routine. sending their children to run behind me
I used to jog every day when I was at so I wouldn’t be lonely. They were unable
home in the United States, so when I to understand the American custom of
arrived in my village in the Dominican exercising alone. I was faced with a
Republic, I set myself a goal to continue dilemma. I really enjoyed my early morn-
jogging two miles every morning. I really ing runs. However, I soon realized that
liked the peaceful feeling of jogging it’s considered impolite in Dominican
alone as the sun came up. But this did villages not to accept a cup of coffee, or
not last for long. The people in my village stop and chat, when you pass people who
simply couldn’t understand why someone are sitting on their front steps. I didn’t
would want to run alone. Soon people want to give up jogging. But, at the same
began to appear at their doorways offering time, I wanted to show respect for the
me a cup of coffee; others would invite customs of the Dominican Republic—
me to stop in for a visit. Sometimes this and not be viewed as odd or strange.
Directions: Use the back of the worksheet to write answers to the following questions.
1. What was the American’s point of view here? 4. What was the Dominicans’ point of view here?
2. What American cultural norm, or custom, did 5. What was the reason for the Dominicans’ point
the American think would be viewed as per- of view? What cultural norm did the Dominicans
fectly normal in the Dominican Republic? have that made them view the American’s be-
havior as strange?
3. Describe a way you think that the American 6. How might the Dominicans begin to under-
could respect the Dominican need to show stand and respect American cultural norms
hospitality to a stranger and, at the same and, at the same time, satisfy their own need
time, not have to give up jogging. to show hospitality to strangers?

Enduring Understanding: Lesson 10: Seeing Both Sides of an Issue
• To keep from misunderstand-
ing the behavior of others, Materials
you have to try to see the • Chart paper
world from their point of
view, not yours. Objectives
• Students will practice the skill of seeing an issue from different points of view.
• How can I learn to see things Instructions
from multiple points of view? 1. Explain that, as shown in Lesson 9, there are often two or more equally reasonable ways
Why is this important? to view a situation, depending on your culture. Being able to see multiple sides of an issue
• If you did develop this skill, is an important skill.Ask why this may be so. Explain that actively listening to another’s
how could it lead to greater viewpoint with an open mind is sometimes the most powerful thing one can do to avoid
harmony and understanding misunderstandings.
right here in our own school?
How about in the world? 2. Suggest to students that active listening is one of the most underrated communication
skills. Review with them the rules of active listening. (Maintain direct eye contact. No in-
terruptions. Keep an encouraging facial expression and utter acknowledging sounds, like
“uh-huh.” Use positive body language. If the person who is speaking gets stuck, ask: Is
there more you would like me to know? and then resume listening.) Ask for two student
volunteers to model the skill of active listening in a brief conversation about “Something
surprising that happened to me this week.” One student will be the speaker and one stu-
dent will be the active listener. (It may be instructive to have a role player deliberately vio-
late the rules of active listening—by whistling, looking around, interrupting, or remaining
utterly silent—to demonstrate how uncomfortable the speaker becomes.)
3. Tell students that they will now practice seeing an issue from different points of view.
4. On each of four pieces of chart paper write one of the following: Strongly Agree,Agree,
Disagree, Strongly Disagree. Tape each paper on the wall in a different corner of the room.
5. Explain that you will state a controversial issue and students will express their opinion
by moving to one of the four corners of the room.
6. State the issue: My way of doing things is the best way of doing things. Have students move
to their desired corner.
7. Ask students to form pairs and explain to each other the reasons behind their opinions
(using active listening). Then ask spokespersons from each corner to state the reasons
behind their pairs’ positions.

Lesson 10: Seeing Both Sides of an Issue (continued)
8. Next, tell students that they will have a chance to see the issue from another point of view.
Ask the “Strongly Agree” group to move to the “Disagree” group’s corner and the “Disagree”
group to move to the “Strongly Agree” corner. Then ask the “Strongly Disagree” group to
move to the “Agree” group’s corner, as the “Agree” group moves to the “Strongly Disagree”
group’s corner.
9. After students have moved to their newly designated corners, ask them to put their first
opinion aside for a moment, to keep an open mind, and to try to think of all the reasons
they might take the opposite position on the same statement: My way of doing things is
the best way of doing things.
10.After students have discussed the reasons for their new position with a partner (again,
using active listening), ask spokespersons from each corner to state the reasons behind
their pairs’ new positions.
11.Ask the students how it felt to let go of their original positions and see the issue from
another viewpoint.
12.When the discussion has ended, explain that the discomfort the students may have felt
having to take a position opposite from their true feelings is somewhat like the discomfort
they might feel when they are in another culture that sees some things differently from the
way they do.
13. Conclude by reminding students of the enduring understanding: To keep from misunder-
standing the behavior of others, you have to try to see the world from their point of view,
not yours.
14.Ask students how putting this idea into practice might make our world a better place—or
the school a better place. In asking students, provide them with real-life examples from
world events, past or current. Have them respond to this question first in a class discussion
and then, perhaps, in writing.
Taking Action
Have students search on the Web or in the library for political cartoons from newspapers and
magazines, including cartoons from other countries. Have them prepare a presentation, skit,
or multimedia project for the class on how American views seem to differ from each other as
well as from views from other countries.

Enduring Understandings: Lesson 11 : A Fundamental of Culture—Cultural Context
• There are aspects of culture
that are fundamental but sub- Objective
tle, and important to grasp if • Students will be able to explain cultural context.
one is to function effectively
within a new cultural context. Instructions
• Crossing cultures isn’t easy. It’s 1. Post on the board the enduring understandings of this lesson.
a complex process in which 2. Discuss with the class the meaning of “context.” Generally speaking, context means the circum-
understanding the context is stances in which a particular event or action occurs. In reference to culture, context refers to the
everything. often unwritten rules or norms that have evolved and become a part of a group’s expected behavior
in various situations. Provide some examples:
Essential Question: • In an American movie theater, people are expected to line up quietly to buy their tickets.
• What is meant by cultural con- It is considered rude to cut into that line.
text, and why is it important to • On public transportation, such as buses and subways, people rarely talk to others they don’t
understand? know. This is considered to be a way of respecting people’s right to privacy.
• Teens behave differently when they are at home with their families than they do when they
are with friends at school.
In the examples above, the context is:
• Unwritten rules about behavior in a movie theater.
• Unwritten rules about behavior in public transportation vehicles.
• Acceptable behavior at home vs. acceptable behavior with friends.
3.Ask students for some examples of things they would never want their friends to do in the
presence of their parents.Ask why a particular behavior would be considered unacceptable.
Ask if this rule is written down anywhere, or whether one just knows it.
4.Ask students for examples of things they would never want their parents to do when they were in the
presence of the students’ friends.Ask why a particular behavior by their parents would be considered
unacceptable.Ask again if this rule is written anywhere,or whether they and their friends just know it.
5. Explain that if you “just know” a rule, it is a cultural norm. This norm guides behavior and lets
everyone know what’s right and what’s rude, for example, when one is in the presence of some-
one’s parents.
6. Explain that just as there are cultural norms at home, in school, in the community, or in the country,
there are cultural norms in other countries. Stepping out of one culture and stepping into another
one is called crossing cultures. Crossing cultures is not an easy thing to do. It’s a complex process in
which understanding the context is fundamental to getting along effectively within the new culture.
For a full version of this lesson, which addresses cultural context compared between two different
cultures, see the Peace Corps publication Insights from the Field, pages 113–121, also available free
on the Web at www.peacecorps.gov/wws/guides/insights/culture/module5/module5.html/.
Taking Action
Ask students to develop a poster, multimedia presentation, or radio spot that illustrates how
misunderstanding the cultural context of a situation at school or in the community can cause
problems. Have students include strategies in their final products that might help those trying
to understand the cultural context of a situation.

Lesson 12: Brief Encounters Enduring Understandings:
• Cultural-norms sheets for the Pandya and Chispa cultures (half of the players will world, ourselves,and others.
receive Pandya sheets and the other half, Chispa sheets) • Behavior is affected in
• Recorded music large part by cultural
beliefs and values.
Objectives: • Culture is like an iceberg.
• Students will gain skills in observing and describing behaviors. Some aspects are visible;
• Students will develop an understanding of how our cultural values influence the way others are beneath the surface.
we view other groups. Invisible aspects influence
and cause the visible ones.
Introduction
Science fiction fans will recognize a familiar theme as they participate in this simulation. Essential Questions:
Many science fiction authors have explored how humans will behave when we meet an alien • How does my culture shape
race for the first time.“Brief Encounters” brings the question closer to home and asks stu- the way I see the world, myself,
dents to explore the interaction of two cultures—one outgoing and casual, the other more and others?
reserved and formal—with different social norms.
• How do my cultural values
and beliefs influence the way
Instructions
I personally behave?
1. Remove all furniture from the center of the classroom. Students will need space to move
• Why is it important to be
around. Explain to the class that they will adopt the cultures of two unfamiliar groups,
aware of the invisible aspects
interact with each other, and then examine their reactions.
of culture?
2. Divide the participants into three groups. Two groups should be about the same size and
should have roughly equal numbers of males and females, if possible.A smaller group of
two or three students will act as observers.
3. Ask the observers to watch closely as two different cultural groups—the Pandyas and the
Chispas—interact. They may move among the participants, but they may not touch or
speak to them. Their observations will help the class view the lesson with a wider perspec-
tive during debriefing.
4. Send the Pandya and Chispa groups to opposite corners of the room. After cutting the
sheets in half, distribute copies of the Pandya cultural-norms sheet (on page 42) to one
group and the Chispa cultural-norms sheet to the other group. Ask the members of each
culture to read these sheets and to discuss their norms among themselves.
5. Visit the Pandyas and clarify their values. Stress the importance of staying in character. Em-
phasize that the male students should be chaperoned at all times. Remind them of the
Pandyas’ reluctance to initiate contacts with people of other cultures.
6. Visit the Chispas and clarify their values. Emphasize the importance of making several
brief contacts rather than a few lengthy ones. Define a contact as eliciting a verbal or a
nonverbal response from a member of the other culture. Remind them of their friendly,
outgoing nature and their eagerness to meet people from other cultures.
7. The simulation: Announce that the two student groups from imaginary countries have
been invited to a party sponsored by an international student-exchange organization. The

Lesson 12: Brief Encounters (continued)
party organizers hope the two groups will get acquainted and learn about each other.
When students return to their home schools, they will present culture reports to their
classmates. The students are welcome to mingle, dance, and talk.
8. Start the music and let the two cultures interact. The teacher and student observers should
walk among the groups, looking for behaviors that can be described and discussed during
debriefing.
9. After 10 to 12 minutes, call time and end the party.Ask the students to meet once more in
opposite corners of the room and to make notes for their culture reports.
10. Give each group about 10 minutes to create a brief report. The Chispas’ report will describe
Pandya behavior and the values that their classmates could expect to encounter if they vis-
ited the Pandya nation. The Pandyas will create a similar description of the Chispas’ culture.
11.Ask a representative from the Chispas to present the group’s report to the class. Then, after
providing the Chispas with a copy of the Pandya cultural norms, ask a representative from
the Pandyas to read that group’s norms sheet.Ask the Chispas to note how their report
compared with the Pandyas’ cultural-norms sheet.
12. Repeat with a Pandya representative sharing the group’s report on the Chispas (and pro-
vide the Pandyas with the Chispas’ norm sheet).
Debriefing
Use questions such as the following to guide discussion of how our own cultural biases influ-
ence the way we view other groups. Be sure to ask the small group of observers for their views
on the participants’ attempts to communicate across cultures and to maintain cultural norms.
1. How did you feel about the behavior of the members of your own group? Of the other
group? Did your group’s culture report use positive, negative, or neutral terms to describe
the other group?
2. How well did your group members observe the norms of their assigned culture? During
the party, what did you do if a member of your culture did not observe a particular norm?
3. What are the real-world advantages of following cultural norms?
4. Ask students to discuss whether they agree or disagree with each of the following statements:
• People have difficulty describing the behaviors of other groups in nonjudgmental terms.
• People acquire cultural norms fairly quickly.
• Most of the group’s norms are maintained through peer pressure.
• Americans tend to feel uncomfortable without eye contact, even though in many parts
of the world, eye contact is considered to be rude and impolite.
• A particular behavior can be perceived differently depending on your group’s norms.
For example, what appears friendly to Chispas seems pushy to Pandyas.

Lesson 12: Brief Encounters (continued)
5. What are some real-world situations that were illustrated during the game?
6. Pandya women were instructed to speak for the Pandya men. In what real-world situations
does one group speak for another?
7. How would the game be different for players if the Pandya men dominated the women?
8. What lessons from this activity would you want to keep in mind if you were going to spend
time in an unfamiliar culture?
9. Ask students to list as many examples of cross-cultural experiences as they can. Remind
them that not all cross-cultural experiences take place in other countries or between
people who speak different languages or come from different ethnic backgrounds.
Attending worship services, for example, with a friend who holds different religious beliefs
is a cross-cultural experience. It’s possible that going to a new school could be a cross-
cultural experience. Brainstorm ideas about what students can do to encourage clear
communication in such situations.
Taking Action
students.Ask students to develop a feature article or regular column for the student newspa-
per that introduces students from other cultures.
P P P P P P P P

You are a Pandya.
Pandya Cultural Norms
• Pandyas prefer to interact with members of their own culture.
• Pandyas do not initiate conversation. They speak only when spoken to.
• Pandyas have very formal speech patterns. For example, they always use “sir” and “ma’am.”
• Among Pandyas, women have more status than men. Men are chaperoned by Pandya women.
• Pandya men avoid eye contact with women from other cultures.
• Pandya men do not talk directly to women from other cultures. They respond through their chaperones.
• Pandya men can talk to men from other cultures. They can maintain eye contact with men from other cultures.
You are a Chispa.

Chispa Cultural Norms
• Chispas are informal and friendly.
• Among Chispas, there are no gender roles. Men and women behave the same way.
• Chispas are outgoing. They love to make contact with people from other cultures.
• Chispa contacts are brief and casual.
• Chispas are democratic and call everyone by his or her first name.
• Chispas value cross-gender contacts more than same-gender contacts.

Lesson 13: Window Into Another Culture Enduring Understandings:
• A “single lucid moment” can
Materials challenge and change our
• Copies of the essay “A Single Lucid Moment” for all students, if they are to read it as worldview.
homework • In some cultures, people
believe that the group is
Objective responsible for the well-being
• Students will grasp the vastness of the gulf that can lie between two cultures—both in of each individual. In other
values and in communicating those values. cultures, people believe
individuals are primarily
Instructions responsible for themselves.
1. Discuss with students the meaning of “lucid” as “extremely clear.” Ask students to think
about the meaning of the story’s title as they read. Essential Questions:
2. Read the essay “A Single Lucid Moment” to the class, or have the students read it for home- • In what ways can a “single
work. Then discuss the essay with them, addressing the following questions: lucid moment” challenge and
• What is it about American culture that allows homelessness to occur? (Students might change our worldview?
consider laws that prohibit incarceration for mental illness alone; the existence of agen- • When is taking care of the in-
cies that provide food or shelter enabling people to survive on the streets; the largess of dividual more important than
sufficient numbers of passersby to allow homeless people to eke out a living; the drug ad- taking care of the group?
diction or mental illness of many homeless people that prevents them from functioning When is taking care of the
productively in society.) group more important than
• What is it about Maimafu culture that does not allow homelessness to occur? taking care of the individual?
• At what point in the essay did the author have his “single lucid moment”?
• What was it that suddenly became clear in that moment? How do you know? Does the au-
thor say explicitly? Have students review the text, if necessary, to answer.
• Why does the author believe that the idea for the homeless men will not work, while the Note: The Peace Corps Coverdell
Maimafu believe it can? World Wise Schools program has
• If the Maimafu had succeeded in bringing the homeless men from Chicago to Papua New published Voices from the Field:
Guinea, would their idea for the welfare of the homeless men have worked? Why or why not? Reading and Writing About the
World, Ourselves, and Others, a
Note: For additional lesson plans to use with this story, see Reading and Responding to “A Single volume of writings by returned
Lucid Moment,” in Voices from the Field (pages 162–172) at www.peacecorps.gov/wws/guides Peace Corps Volunteers about their
/voices/. experiences overseas. Lesson plans
For additional stories by returned Peace Corps Volunteers, visit the Web at accompany each selection. This
www.peacecorps.gov/wws/stories/ and www.peacecorpswriters.org/. essay is excerpted from that vol-
ume, which is available for free
Taking Action downloading from the Web at
Students can take advantage of a number of programs that have been set up to help them com- www.peacecorps.gov/wws/guides
municate with and learn from other students and teachers overseas. For information on these /voices/.
programs, see the Appendix, page 47, number 10.

By Robert W. Soderstrom Reading: A Single Lucid Moment
Returned Peace Corps
Volunteer, Papua New Guinea As the plane buzzed back over the mountains, it was now just us and the villagers of Maimafu.
My wife, Kerry, and I were assigned to this village of 800 people in the Eastern Highlands
Province of Papua New Guinea. It looked as if we were in for a true Indiana Jones adventure!
The mountains were dramatic and thick with rain forest. No roads had ever scarred
them.We had loaded a four-seater plane with cargo (we would fly out every three months to re-
supply) and flew for 30 bumpy minutes southwest to the mountain ridges. From the plane, the
village looked very much like a shoebox panorama from a grade-school science project.
My wife and I were the first Peace Corps Volunteers ever in Maimafu.We had been greeted
by a large group of beautiful people, all wearing gorgeous, curious smiles. Giggling, naked chil-
dren hid behind trees during the trek down the mountain to our new home, and a lively en-
tourage followed using their heads to carry our boxed supplies through the muddy trails. It was
quickly becoming clear that we had just been adopted by a very large and unique family.
The basic culture of subsistence living had not been replaced; there were no cars, electricity,
or telephones—just grass huts, large gardens, and a whole lot of rain forest. The women spent
the day in the gardens planting, weeding, and harvesting. The men grew coffee, from which they
generated their sole income of about $200 a year. The village had lived in harmony with its natu-
ral surroundings for millenniums.
The villagers had built us a beautiful bamboo-thatched hut on short stilts. Planted behind
the house was a three-acre garden, carefully tended and ready to harvest. Its bounty included
corn, greens, tomatoes, beans, peanuts, onions, potatoes, and pineapples. To top it all off, the
path to our new home was sprinkled with flower petals the day we arrived.
It quickly became clear that Maimafu was a preserved example of communal living. Men
rallied to the building of a new home, the elderly worked and lived with their families, and
mothers breast-fed their neighbors’ children. In fact, the one parentless, Down’s syndrome man
in our village was fed, housed, and clothed by everyone; he would spend a few days with one
family before happily wandering in to work or play with the next.
It was when we had settled in that it happened.We were sitting in a circle on the ground with
a large group of villagers to “tok stori,” Papua New Guinea’s favorite pastime of “telling stories.” I
had passed around photos I had snapped back home in Chicago.A villager was staring intently
at one of the photos. He had spotted two homeless men on a Michigan Avenue sidewalk with
crude signs propped between their legs.
“Tupela man wokem wanem?” he asked. (What are these two men doing?)
I attempted to explain the concept of homelessness to the group, and the desire of these two
men to get some food. Crowding around the photograph for a good stare, the villagers could not
comprehend how the men became homeless, or why the passersby in the photo were so indiffer-
ent. They bombarded me with questions and I did my best to make sense of the two ragged beg-
gars in the midst of such glittering skyscrapers. I read from their questions and solemn mood

Reading: A Single Lucid Moment (continued)
that they had made an important observation—these two men must lack not only food and
shelter but also a general sense of affection and purpose in their community.
Early the next morning, we were startled to hear a sharp rap at the door. Opening it, I was
greeted by Moia, Kabarae, Kavalo, and Lemek. Kerry and I went out into the bright, beautiful day
and sat with them in a circle. Each man gave us a pineapple. Moia spoke:“After you left last
night, all of us men on the village council had a very big meeting. For a long, long time we dis-
cussed the two men in your picture.We have reached a conclusion and have a proposal for you.”
“What could this possibly be?” we wondered.
“Please contact those two men as well as your government.Ask the government if they will
fly those two men to Maimafu, just like they did for you.We have marked two spots of land
where we will build houses for those two men, just like we built for you. Our men will build the
houses and the women will plant the gardens to feed them.”
They were offering to do what? I was stunned and overwhelmed. Their offer was bold and
genuine. It was innocent and naive. It was beautiful.And, like the twist of a kaleidoscope, my
worldview had completely changed.
What does one say to such an offer? We stammered for a response and stumbled over expla-
nations of difficult logistics, scarce money, and government bureaucracies. But the councilmen
would not accept no for an answer. In their simple lives, it was impossible to comprehend that
humanity was host to such an injustice. They wanted action.
The villagers were serious. They were offering everything they had.We reluctantly matched
their enthusiasm with a few letters to America and long conversations with the village council.
We toured the sites where the homes were to be built.We listened to the women discuss the types
of gardens they would plant, which would even include coffee trees to generate a small income.
And we answered numerous questions over time from villagers amazed with this foreign thing
called homelessness. The plan could not work, we told them. Their hearts sank, and I could see
in their eyes that this dream would not die easily.
“Sori tru, sori tru we no inap wokem dospela samting,” they told us (We are sorry this can’t
happen). They clicked their tongues and shook their heads in disappointment.
Initially inspired by the episode, I began mulling questions over and over in my mind. Fetching
water in the ink-black night and looking up the hill at our small hut, light from the lantern inside
splitting the bamboo-thatched walls, I would think of the spiritual wealth of Maimafu and the
material wealth of America: Can a community reach a balance of material wealth and spiritual
wealth? Why do these two societies exhibit so much of one and not much of the other? Do those
two ends interfere with each other? How much spiritual wealth can we have? How much material
wealth do we need? How has the world evolved so that some people own mansions and others
lack shoes? How many people have love in their souls but diseased water in their drinking cups?
The villagers worked with us on newer projects.And, I discovered, like many Peace Corps
Volunteers before me, that the world’s purest form of brotherhood can often be found in the
smallest of villages.

Quotes for Thought Appendix:
Preserving civilization is the Taking Action—Additional Ways
work not of some miracle- to Become Involved
working, superhuman person-
ality but of each one of us. To help students become more involved in the norms and sensitivities of other cultures, you
may wish to guide them to real-life experiences that employ what they have learned in this
—Bill Moyers, booklet’s lessons. These experiences may occur in the classroom, in the school at large, at
Former Deputy Director, home, in the local community, or in communities worldwide.
Peace Corps
Following are some activities, projects, and opportunities for taking action, in addition to
those provided at the ends of some of the lessons under the heading “Taking Action”:
Through service, we have only
our communities to build and 1. Modify the lessons in this booklet and have students lead younger children through
ourselves to discover. the activities.
—Returned Peace Corps 2. Have students create a serious or funny book about real-life examples of cultural misun-
Volunteer, Fiji Islands derstandings that occurred because of differences in language or behavior. Display these
books in your school or local library for all students to read.
3. Invite students to participate in the Peace Corps Partnership Program. Many U.S. classes
have joined the Peace Corps Partnership Program by providing assistance to Peace Corps
Volunteer projects that aid students and communities worldwide. For information on
how to participate, visit the Coverdell World Wise Schools website at
www.peacecorps.gov/wws/partnerships/.
4. Encourage students interested in performing community service in their school, commu-

nity, and beyond to visit the website of the Corporation for National and Community Ser-
vice at www.cns.gov. Students can choose from a database of service activities in their local
community, participate in a Learn and Serve project in their school or community, or sign
up to serve as an AmeriCorps member after graduating from high school.
5. Organize a school program in which your students can help second-language speakers
enroll their children in school or in other important community activities. Part of this
project could include the preparation of fliers for the community announcing the
services of your students.
6. Participate in a local construction project through Habitat for Humanity or other com-
munity-assistance organizations. Invite students to document the building process—
including short interviews with the volunteer participants—using videotape. Present
the completed videotape to the local chapter of the service group being assisted.

7. Invite students already serving their school or community to record their service
experiences on the USA Freedom Corps website at www.usafreedomcorps.gov.
USA Freedom Corps offers service opportunities to Americans of all ages who are
looking for ways to serve their community, their country, and the world.
8. For extensive resources and ideas about how students can become involved in their
communities and beyond in promoting cross-cultural understanding, see the Coverdell
World Wise Schools website at www.peacecorps.gov/wws/service/. Learn how to incor-
porate service into your curriculum by following World Wise Schools’ step-by-step
service-learning guide and lesson plans.
9. Have students keep a journal documenting instances in which they were able to apply
concepts in this booklet to promote cross-cultural understanding in your school.
10. Making Connections Overseas

• Invite the class to participate in the Peace Corps’World Wise Schools Correspondence
Match Program.As a class, you and your students can correspond with a Peace Corps
Volunteer (PCV) serving overseas.Your students can learn through the PCV’s firsthand
experience about the people, geography, environment, and culture of the country in
which the Volunteer lives and works, and your students can help their peers overseas
learn about the United States. Find information about the program on the Web at
www.peacecorps.gov/wws/correspond/. If no Volunteer is available for a match at the
time of your inquiry, you may be placed on a waiting list.
• Have students sign up for the Peace Corps’World Wise Schools CyberVolunteer Program
listserv. Participants receive nine e-mails over the course of the school year from three
Peace Corps Volunteers serving overseas.You can find information about the program
on the Web at www. peacecorps.gov/wws/cybervol/.
• Invite students to use e-mail and the Internet to begin collaborative online educational
projects, pen-pal relationships, and cross-cultural friendships with students in other
countries.You can visit the website Friendship Through Education to make such con-
tacts. Find information about the initiative on the Web at
www.friendshipthrougheducation.org.
U U U U U U U

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Building A Peace Corps Classroom Guide

Unit I: Culture in the United States

Unit II: Culture Beyond the United States

Appendix: Taking Action—Additional Ways to Become Involved. . . 46

Coverdell World Wise Schools 1

What’s the Peace Corps’ Role?

Coverdell World Wise Schools 3

What’s for Younger Students? For Older Students?

Terms in the Margins

The Major Enduring Understandings Addressed in This Book:

4 Building Bridges A Peace Corps Classroom Guide to Cross-Cultural Understanding

Social Studies Standards,

■ Individual Development and Identity (NCSS Theme IV)

■ Global Connections (NCSS Theme IX)

National Geography Standards

■ Human Systems (Essential Element IV)

Coverdell World Wise Schools 5

• The processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement (Standard 12).

6 Building Bridges A Peace Corps Classroom Guide to Cross-Cultural Understanding

8 Building Bridges A Peace Corps Classroom Guide to Cross-Cultural Understanding

Objectives Essential Questions:

Coverdell World Wise Schools 9

9. Conduct a class discussion:

10 Building Bridges A Peace Corps Classroom Guide to Cross-Cultural Understanding

1. Styles of dress 16. Concept of fairness

2. Ways of greeting people 17. Nature of friendship

3. Beliefs about hospitality 18. Ideas about clothing

4. Importance of time 19. Foods

5. Paintings 20. Greetings

6. Values 21. Facial expressions and hand gestures

7. Literature 22. Concept of self

9. Attitudes about personal space/privacy 24. Religious beliefs

12. Holiday customs 27. Rules of polite behavior

13. Music 28. Attitude toward age

14. Dancing 29. The role of family

15. Celebrations 30. General worldview

Coverdell World Wise Schools 11

2. What music do you listen to? What dances do you know?

7. What holidays and ceremonies are important in your family?

3. What foods do you eat at home?

12 Building Bridges A Peace Corps Classroom Guide to Cross-Cultural Understanding

Objectives Essential Questions:

Coverdell World Wise Schools 13

6. Then provide the following definition:

14 Building Bridges A Peace Corps Classroom Guide to Cross-Cultural Understanding

Coverdell World Wise Schools 15

16 Building Bridges A Peace Corps Classroom Guide to Cross-Cultural Understanding

Coverdell World Wise Schools 17

Where There’s a Will

18 Building Bridges A Peace Corps Classroom Guide to Cross-Cultural Understanding

Coverdell World Wise Schools 19

20 Building Bridges A Peace Corps Classroom Guide to Cross-Cultural Understanding

Coverdell World Wise Schools 21

22 Building Bridges A Peace Corps Classroom Guide to Cross-Cultural Understanding

1. Americans are always in such a hurry to get things done!

2. Americans insist on treating everyone the same.

3. Americans always have to say what they’re thinking!

4. Americans always want to change things.

5. Americans don’t show very much respect for their elders.