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World Flag Database - Graham Bartram
Grades
3 to 12
Users can find any flag in the world in this well-updated database. To search for a specific country's flag, simply click on the first letter of the country and thumbprint ...more
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Users can find any flag in the world in this well-updated database. To search for a specific country's flag, simply click on the first letter of the country and thumbprint flags from all countries beginning with that letter come up. Besides coming to a full sized representation of the flag, readers also see important statistics such as religion, currency, and languages as well as important organizations the country belongs to such as the U.N. In one click, a contextual map of the country comes up.
tag(s): flags (18), maps (220), statistics (121)
In the Classroom
This is an easy-to-use fast reference tool for students. The site also sells flags, but you can ignore the sales portion. If your students do country reports, this is a one-stop site for them to find their country's flag. Perhaps they can use these ideas to design a flag for their own mythical country as part of a unit on government.Wikipedia: List of Faux Pas
Grades
6 to 12Although this site is a wiki and therefore editable by anyone who chooses to change the content, it highlights the differences between cultures and how people interpret behavior. Find...more
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Although this site is a wiki and therefore editable by anyone who chooses to change the content, it highlights the differences between cultures and how people interpret behavior. Find out about what is considered "good" and "bad" etiquette in places all over the world. Perhaps your students would even like to write their own additions?
It is worth mentioning to your secondary students that the authorship of wiki content is unknown and would therefore be unacceptable as an "academic" source.
tag(s): cross cultural understanding (173), cultures (180)
In the Classroom
Use this as a discussion-opener in your world language or world cultures class. If you put the Faux Pas wiki up on a projector or allow your students to explore it, assigning each group to find one thing that is perfectly acceptable in your home country but considered offensive in another, you can then discuss the differences one needs to consider in learning the language or history of that country. As a a follow-up in a world cultures class, ask students to write up their own etiquette guide for their school or home town.Native American Nations - Lisa Mitten
Grades
3 to 12Find Native American nations' own sites and information in this alphabetical index by tribe(with notes as to most recent updates). ...more
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Find Native American nations' own sites and information in this alphabetical index by tribe(with notes as to most recent updates).
In the Classroom
Use this site as a resource for research papers and projects. Students can search for information about specific tribes or for information that the tribes themselves have put forward. This would be a great resource for a US history class.Kids Activities from A Celebration of Souls: Day of the Dead - Burke Museum
Grades
1 to 8Take a multi-cultural approach to Day of the Dead celebrations by trying some of these hands-on activities and crafts from Mexico. These would work well as part of a fall ...more
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Take a multi-cultural approach to Day of the Dead celebrations by trying some of these hands-on activities and crafts from Mexico. These would work well as part of a fall festival, multicultural days, or in a Spanish class. The activities include Making a Paper Marigold, a recipe for Bread of the Dead, art projects, and sugar skulls and papier mache floral skulls.
tag(s): spanish (109)
In the Classroom
Include these activities with your class to promote multicultural understanding. You could also share the ideas with parents to do at home with their children.Medieval Times Reality Adventure - Joan Weathers- 6th grade teacher
Grades
5 to 8This extensive webquest on life in Medieval times includes all facets of life and provides multiple challenges to students to research, assimilate information, write, analyze and evaluate....more
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This extensive webquest on life in Medieval times includes all facets of life and provides multiple challenges to students to research, assimilate information, write, analyze and evaluate. The final group task (after multiple individual steps) is to analyze a problem from Medieval times and provide a suggested solution. The list of resources to use is extensive, and stduetns are also directed to infrmation about evaluating web-based srouces BEFORE they start the task. Although there is no actual Teacher Page, there is a listing of resources teachers might use and an invitaiton to submit further ideas via email.
tag(s): medieval (32)
In the Classroom
Review the process carefully to see if you need to adapt it in your situation. The teacher who designed this uses clips from a film (Ever After) and specific software packages (Inspiration, Publisher). There are certainly alternate ways to accomplish the same tasks if you do not have access to these exact resources. If you do not have as much time, you may want to use some portion of this webquest with your students. It is well-packaged for use in toto, if you wish!One alternative would be having students turn in work via Google Docs, reviewed here, allowing for easy feedback from the teacher and no messy papers to grade.
BBC Learning English - BBC (British Broadcasting Company)
Grades
3 to 12BBC offers the news with vocabulary support, exercises, video and audio features with related testing, a serial story with viewer input, a special grammar and vocabulary section, and...more
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BBC offers the news with vocabulary support, exercises, video and audio features with related testing, a serial story with viewer input, a special grammar and vocabulary section, and features just for students (Learner of the Day, a learning English blog, emailed newsletter, and message board.) This is a comprehensive site well worth your time. American speakers will find some "different" vocabulary, but this simply enriches the site.
Some activities require Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
tag(s): news (229)
In the Classroom
For teachers, there is a weekly lesson plan to accompany a selected news feature. The lesson plan includes highlighted vocabulary, a glossary, comprehension questions, a quiz, and links to more information about the subject of the story. This site is useful for far more than just ESL/ELL. Remedial reading teachers who struggle to find interactive comprehension activities will love the variety of reading selections and cloze passages, such as "Get That Job."Newsround - BBC News for Kids - BBC
Grades
3 to 8This highly-participatory, attractive world news site for kids lets children select all the normal news features like tv/movies, music, weather, sports, animals, sci/tech etc. Students...more
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This highly-participatory, attractive world news site for kids lets children select all the normal news features like tv/movies, music, weather, sports, animals, sci/tech etc. Students can join the Press Pack and submit their own photos and comments. Under Newsroom, kids have the options of submitting a report they've researched and written; it will be displayed on the website! They can also ask for a certain topic to be investigated. Topic suggestions can be found here too. Personal advice columns are totally cyber with one current topic, bullying, available in video webchat format. A message board with current comments runs across the top of the site like a ticker tape. Other interactive features include student voting and blogs.
In the Classroom
Note: the site is British, so spelling and topics have a UK slant! Make sure you have parent permission for students to post work to the site, and keep their identities safe by using pseudonyms or initials. Encourage those with Internet access to visit the site with mom and dad to talk about current events together (include the link on your teacher web page). If you are familiar with RSS feeds, this would be a good choice for a first feed.Topics Online Magazine - Sandy and Thomas Peters
Grades
4 to 8With the current issue and extensive archives, this online magazine offers colorful articles and a variety of photographs of the countries our new English learners come from. The magazine...more
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With the current issue and extensive archives, this online magazine offers colorful articles and a variety of photographs of the countries our new English learners come from. The magazine includes interesting topics such as food, travel, globalization, international stories, movie reviews from the international perspective, biographies by international students and students of American ethnicities, and shopping tips. This is a great entry way into international culture. The variety of topics and photographs of real students and foreign ports make it interesting to everyone.
tag(s): biographies (94), cooking (32), grammar (137), movies (54)
In the Classroom
Use these articles as part of your study of nations of the world or as models for student writing in your own classroom. With digital pictures, you can create a similar "magazine" format in PowerPoint or on paper, now that your students have a model to explore. Students can research their own ethnic heritage or learn about a culture that is totally unfamiliar.Dates That Matter - TeachersFirst
Grades
5 to 12Dates That Matter provides a new perspective on history by placing each day-in-history event in a broader context and explaining its long-term impact. History is a fabric woven of many...more
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Dates That Matter provides a new perspective on history by placing each day-in-history event in a broader context and explaining its long-term impact. History is a fabric woven of many events, and Dates That Matter helps students see the full tapestry.
The dates display on a projector-ready screen: A single sentence reveals something about the date. You then click to see a sequence of thought-provoking questions to guide students to a greater understanding of interrelationships as they try to guess the actual event. When the historical event finally shows on screen, a further explanation, Why does it matter?, fills in the remaining context and offers reviewed links to learn more.
Teachers who work with low readers might try using these daily clues to teach the reading strategy of connecting what you read with prior knowledge to place new learning in context.
A full, annotated version of each date is available from the Teacher page at the end so you can plan for student responses and have hints for guiding the discussion. You can also preview upcoming dates to choose those you may want to put in your weekly plans.
tag(s): calendars (37), substitutes (25)
In the Classroom
Begin your social studies class once or twice a week by sharing a Date That Matters on a projector or interactive whiteboard to foster broader understanding of the connections that form world history. Or use the links at the end as an extra credit or enrichment opportunity or for gifted students to investigate more. Focus class attention as everyone enters by projecting the date and starting sentence. Make this one a link on your teacher web page for students (and parents) to access outside of school. Substitutes will also appreciate this meaningful and engaging way to connect today with students' prior history knowledge for more than an isolated factoid. It's a lesson ready to go!Where in the World and What in the World is Money? - International Monetary Fund
Grades
6 to 12A brief, fairly simplistic game that illustrates the different forms that money can take: gold, paper money, items of value, a promise to pay in the future. The ...more
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A brief, fairly simplistic game that illustrates the different forms that money can take: gold, paper money, items of value, a promise to pay in the future. The game involves a trip through time in which the player needs to choose various objects to use as currency. Wrong answers re-direct the user back to the list of choices. Right answers advance the user through the game.
In the Classroom
This might make a nice kick off activity (10 minutes)to a unit on money--from an economic perspective rather than a counting perspective--or a unit about a country or society that uses a different form of currency.Around the World in 42 Hand Gestures - Work the World
Grades
2 to 12Scroll down the landing to learn about gestures from other cultures and share the discussion through the infographic on this site.Use as part of your language class or as an ...more
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Scroll down the landing to learn about gestures from other cultures and share the discussion through the infographic on this site.Use as part of your language class or as an activity to help students communicate with ENL/ESL peers. Gestures can have VERY differnet meanings in other cultures, so this site is a must before any foreign language trips abroad!
tag(s): communication (129), cultures (180), infographics (56)
In the Classroom
ENL/ESL teachers will appreciate this free infographic hosted by Work the World. Be sure to save it as a favorite on your classroom desktop to allow for easy retrieval later on.Holidays Around the World - Common Sense Education
Grades
2 to 8This lesson plan provides a way to encourage cultural awareness and make your ENL/ESL students' knowledge of their home culture a classroom asset. The lesson can be done in an ...more
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This lesson plan provides a way to encourage cultural awareness and make your ENL/ESL students' knowledge of their home culture a classroom asset. The lesson can be done in an all-ENL/ESL class or in a regular class as part of an investigation of cultures, part of a unit on research, or as an art lesson. It can also be adapted for use in a high school level world cultures class.
tag(s): holidays (187)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of this free lesson plan during the end of the years content, using it as a means to review World History before the State standard exam. Students can each be assigned or select a country and complete the report, to be presented to their peers. This will allow the students to review and re-enforce the content. World History teachers will appreciate this one!WorldWise Schools - Teaching About Culture Lesson Plans - Peace Corps
Grades
2 to 12This site is a much-expanded remake of the Peace Corps collection of lesson plans and activities for cross-cultural understanding around the world. Teachers can search for lesson plans...more
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This site is a much-expanded remake of the Peace Corps collection of lesson plans and activities for cross-cultural understanding around the world. Teachers can search for lesson plans by topic, region of the world, grade level, or academic subject. All readings and materials are included (many as PDF - Acrobat Reader files). Many lessons include readings that would also work well for teaching reading comprehension, espceially for your less-than-proficient readers. Simply choose the area of the world, subject, and/or grade level for which you want a lesson plan, and you will see quite a list.
tag(s): cultures (180)
In the Classroom
Search for lessons on a specific region as you teach about it or use these selections as general readings for comprehension. Consider using a guided reading activity with a tool like Hypothesis, reviewed here. Hypothesis is perfect for introducing any reading passage to struggling readers, special education students, and ENL/ESL learners. The lessons may also be helpful in getting to know students who enter your classroom from other cultures. The lessons would be very helpful in developing background knowledge to understand cross-cultural literature selections in a language arts class.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
The Cultures and History of America - Library of Congress
Grades
6 to 12This site accompanies an exhibition of 4,000 rare books, maps, documents, paintings, prints, and ojects focused on the early Americas from the time of the indigenous people of Mexico,...more
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This site accompanies an exhibition of 4,000 rare books, maps, documents, paintings, prints, and ojects focused on the early Americas from the time of the indigenous people of Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean through the period of European contact, exploration, and settlement. There is a nice picture gallery of exhibits and a comprehensive bibliography.This site provides some nice visuals for a unit on indiginous peoples of the Americas. The picture gallery has some lovely maps from the Francis Drake expedition, and the information about buccaneers would provide a nice balance to the "Pirates of the Carribean" fantasy depiction of pirates.
tag(s): aztecs (9), explorers (64), mayans (23), spanish (109)
In the Classroom
Use portions of this site on a projector in class or spend a day on a "web hunt" with students answering questions you give them to find within the site. There is plenty to explore.Calendars through the Ages - Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement
Grades
6 to 12This information-packed site focuses on calendars through the ages. It includes sections on the astronomy of calendars (e.g. moon cycles), the history of calendars, differences among...more
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This information-packed site focuses on calendars through the ages. It includes sections on the astronomy of calendars (e.g. moon cycles), the history of calendars, differences among various international calendars, derivation of the names of the months, and loads of other trivia about calendars.
tag(s): calendars (37)
In the Classroom
Lots of great stuff for "did you know?" discussions or as an extension of a study of timelines and other graphic organizers of information. A few interesting visuals, but the strength of this site is in its information. Might be a good source for monthly bulletin boards or an enrichment area for gifted students.Weaving Art Museum
Grades
6 to 12See annotated details of ancient and more recent weavings from many cultures using the interactive "exhibits" of the museum. See work from Egypt, Kashmir, Persia, and many more. Decode...more
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See annotated details of ancient and more recent weavings from many cultures using the interactive "exhibits" of the museum. See work from Egypt, Kashmir, Persia, and many more. Decode some of the iconography in Asian carpets. Some exhibits are text-heavy, while others offer many plates and details for your art students to study and use as references. World cultures classes will be able to envision ancient times by looking at the beautiful images on this site.
tag(s): archeology (28)
In the Classroom
Include this on your classroom computer Favorites when students are beginning a weaving or printmaking unit so they can find inspiration in the graphical patterns and story-telling elements. This would also be a great way to introduce a weaving unit or a unit on ancient Asian civilizations on a projector.The Cave of Lascaux - France Ministry of Culture and Communication
Grades
4 to 12Take virtual tour of the famous cave paintings of Lascaux in France, read about their discovery, learn to interpret the drawings, and find out fragile environment of the caves. ...more
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Take virtual tour of the famous cave paintings of Lascaux in France, read about their discovery, learn to interpret the drawings, and find out fragile environment of the caves. The site itself is beautiful to explore, letting you experience the caves with a virtual "flashlight" as you enter.
tag(s): archeology (28), painting (55)
In the Classroom
Use a projector to introduce the site, if you must, but allow your students to navigate this one alone or with a partner. The thrill of discovery through the site's design is more than worth any management challenges. Give the students a specific set of questions to answer and things to find, if you are concerned that they may not stay on task. Compare these primitive drawings to those found in other cultures and continents as you discuss common themes in religion and mythology.Alexander Palace Time Machine - Bob Atchison
Grades
6 to 12The tragic story of the lost princess Anastasia is often of interest to students and can serve as an introduction to the story of the Russian Revolution. The Alexander Palace ...more
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The tragic story of the lost princess Anastasia is often of interest to students and can serve as an introduction to the story of the Russian Revolution. The Alexander Palace site certainly illustrates the extreme wealth and extravagance of the Romanov court and how this brought about the Russian Revolution and the rise of communism. This site includes everything: diaries and letters, photographs of the palace pets, and information about the life of Tsar Alexander, the last tsar of Russia. Although the level of detail would be very useful for someone doing research into Russian history, the chief benefit of this site for classroom teachers is its photographs of the palace and its treasures. There are photo tours of the palace and each of its rooms. Of particular interest are zoom-able photos of eleven jeweled and decorated Faberge eggs. The site would also be useful for art teachers in illustrating the craftsmanship and beauty of the Faberge eggs, perhaps before asking students to design their own.
In the Classroom
Send your students on a tour, looking for evidence to support a poitn of view about tsarist Russia. Or try a scavenger hunt where students find answers to specific questions. Even simpler, use a projector to give a "tour" as the opening activity of your unit, then have students revisit the site in individual computers later on in the unit for specific research.North Korea - CIA FactBook - CIA
Grades
6 to 12The CIA's Factbook is pretty dry reading, but this site does provide some of the history of Korea, including the post-World War II division into North and South. There are ...more
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The CIA's Factbook is pretty dry reading, but this site does provide some of the history of Korea, including the post-World War II division into North and South. There are other facts about culture, government, and economy, but North Korea remains one of the world's least-known and least-understood nations. Could be a useful reference for discussion of current events or a research source for projects on countries.
tag(s): korea (21)
In the Classroom
Include this in your supplemental teacher links pages during a unit on Asia or Korea.World Geography Quizzes - Sheppard Software
Grades
3 to 12With such poor results as a nation on geography testing, we all should try these geography games to build student knowledge of U.S. and world geography. Students can click on ...more
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With such poor results as a nation on geography testing, we all should try these geography games to build student knowledge of U.S. and world geography. Students can click on the region of the world and practice at different levels of difficulty. Even adults can find a challenge. Offered in a "dial up version" for those accessing the sites from a slower connection.
tag(s): capitals (16), continents (33), countries (73), maps (220)