Taking on the World
By Gail Junion-Metz -- School Library Journal, 9/1/1997
Before choosing this year's "Surf For" topics, I posted messages to several listservs asking school and public librarians to send me their "most wanted" subjects. I received lots of responses, many of which asked me to cover world cultures. While this month's column doesn't focus on specific cultural groups, it lists some good starting points for exploration, along with sites that examine our differences and similarities as people.
For Starters
Older kids as well as teachers and librarians will find The Web of Culture a good place to start their search. The site has lots of up-to-date links to countries and sections on various aspects of culture, such as gestures, language, food, and money. Check out "Amigos de E-mail" for requests from classes and students seeking e-mail correspondents. Also check out the "Question Corner," where kids post questions about various cultures.
Where's Kuala Lumpur?
Finding a site with reliable country information is not easy. There are many that provide this stuff, but few say where they get their information. One site for older kids and teachers is the Library of Congress: Country Studies, which has facts on 71 countries. Not only is the information reliable, but you can keyword search it to locate obscure data. For younger kids, World Surfari has activities and reliable country information -- the data are from the CIA World Fact Book. This site is created by Brian Giacoppo, who's 11 years old. Check out "Say Hi! from Your Country" for messages from kids all over the world. There are only a few countries covered so far, but the site is worth a look.
Holidays and Flags
Want to know about holidays and celebrations? Visit the keyword-searchable MultiCultural Calendar, where the information comes mainly from kids and classes. A similar site is the World Book of Holiday Traditions. There are lots of flag sites, but few have information about flags or their countries. The World Flag Database is different. It has images of a large number of flags, basic data about each country, and information on flag protocol.
Ancient Cultures
You and your students can study the mysteries of Egypt, Greece, and Rome by connecting to Exploring Ancient World Cultures. This site is not the easiest to use but, it's full of content. In addition to the "big three" ancient cultures, it covers the Near East, India, China, Islam, and Medieval Europe. Check out "Quizzes" for brain teasers, as well as "Chronology" for a cross-cultural timeline.
Younger students will like the Encyclopedia Mythica, which contains information on mythology, folklore, and more than 3,000 gods, goddesses, legendary creatures, and supernatural beings.
Connecting to Other People
This column wouldn't be complete without listing some sites that bring people together to learn more about each other and the world. Intercultural E-Mail Classroom Connections includes discussions, projects, and surveys for kids and teachers. Using the Yahooligans!: Around the World: People page, children can look at kids' home pages from all over the globe.
Of course, you can also take your kids on virtual field trips. Two of the best sites listing cultural and geographical excursions are Global Schoolnet's Projects Registry and Yahoo!: Recreation: Travel: Virtual Field Trips. Bon Voyage!
Web Addresses
- Web of Culture
http://www.worldculture.com - Library of Congress: Country Studies
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html - World Surfari
http://www.supersurf.com - MultiCultural Calendar
http://www.kidlink.org/KIDPROJ/MCC - World Book of Holiday Traditions
http://mgfx.com/holidays/contents.htm - World Flag Database
http://flags.mmcorp.com/index.asp - Exploring Ancient World Cultures
http://eawc.evansville.edu/index.htm - Encyclopedia Mythica
http://www.pantheon.org/mythica - Intercultural E-Mail Classroom Connections
http://www.stolaf.edu/network/iecc - Yahooligans!: Around the World: People
http://www.yahooligans.com/Around_the_World/People - Global Schoolnet's Projects Registry
http://www.gsn.org/gsn/proj/index.html - Yahoo!: Recreation: Travel: Virtual Field Trips
http://www.yahoo.com/Recreation/Travel/Virtual_Field_Trips
