[LM_NET] World Cultures help

[Lorna Hardin <ljh@MAC.COM>]

Hello All -

I have a question related to a 8th grade World Cultures class I must  
teach this coming fall ... yes, my time in the media center has been  
cut to 60% so I will be in the classroom for two hours a day. A class  
for which I have no materials, no rationale for its existence, and no  
expected outcomes for students when we're done. Actually, the class  
is called "Great Explorations" (which means what??) and was  
previously sort of a pre-foreign language class taught to give kids a  
smattering of French, German, and Spanish. It was put together years  
ago by a teacher who has just retired but even then, had no  
"official" purpose. He did it because he liked it. For myself, I have  
absolutely NO background in languages and will not spend any time  
gaining such knowledge. If they want to teach foreign languages, they  
need to get a person certified and qualified to do that. Overall the  
situation is great, huh?

I am looking for a package or set of lessons or a syllabus or  
philosophy or something I can use to teach World Cultures. My thought  
is to expose students to life and culture in significant parts of the  
world either by region or country or both. I have lots of video tapes  
dealing with France, Germany, and Spain/Mexico ... but nothing else.  
Any assistance, suggestions, or direction would be most welcome.

Please email me off list to ljh@mac.com

Lorna Hardin
Media Specialist (moving to part time)
Arthurs Middle School
Trenton, MI
ljh@mac.com

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