Objective: Students will use the knowledge of the environment they grew up in and context from the story to compare and contrast the culture and norms of the characters in a story written by an international author.
Instruction:
Based on teacher selection, the instructor will choose a young adult story that was written in another country, by a non-English speaking author.
The teacher will read the book aloud to students as a whole class. Students will each have their own copy of the book and will follow along as necessary.
Think, Pair, Share Activity:
Think: Students will work independently to compile a list of similarities and differences of their lives to the lives of the characters in the story. Students should be encouraged to make broad comparisons and specific ones as well, as to enable serious consideration for the other culture’s norms. This list can be a collection of thoughts as the story is read over time.
Pair: Students will gather into small groups to compare their lists of similarities and differences between their lives and those of the characters in the story. Pairing students into small groups will encourage them to share specific details, as sometimes the whole class setting can be intimidating. Once they have spent time discussing, have the groups of students share their list of characteristics of the culture of the setting the book takes place in.
Share: Groups will then share with the class the list they compiled. As groups share, the teacher will take note of the most surprising components of the different culture which students noticed.
Group Assignment Out-of-Class:
Based on the list of characteristics of the culture of the story students were most surprised about, the teacher will assign each group a research assignment on that country in which the setting took place. Examples of research topics include, but are not limited to, religious affiliation in the country, age of youth (i.e. at what age is someone considered an adult?), and traditional foods.
Reflection Discussion:
Students will discuss what they learned from reading international literature and share what country or culture they would like to learn more about.