This page explains how The Culture Connection is organized and provides suggestions for how to best use it in the classroom. (Please scroll down to see chart below text.)

      The Culture Connection contains the following sections: 1. The main text which contains the stories, poems and articles; 2. Interactive Pages which contain related photos, illustrations, activities, links to other sites, audio, video and student art/writing; and 3. Curriculum Connections pages for teachers providing background information, lesson ideas, creative writing suggestions and connections to various areas of the curriculum.

            The site is also designed to be a medium for learning through which teachers GUIDE their students to discovery. Teachers should preview the site thoroughly, determining a specific plan for using it in the classroom to reinforce classroom topics and meet specific curriculum standards. Teachers should also determine which Interactive Page and Curriculum Connections activities and lessons they would like to use before leading students through the pages.

      Use the chart below for planning. To go to a story/article, click on its title. To go to a story/article's Curriculum Connections page for teachers, click on the apple next to its respective title. To go to a story/article's Interactive Pages for students, first go to the story/article itself by clicking on its title below, then link forward from the bottom of that page.

Story/Section                    Interactive Pages          Curriculum Areas

1. Swahili/Spanish Audio & Photos

2. Photo

3. Photo

4. Recipe & Links to Related Sites

5. Illustrations, Writing & Art Activities

6. Writing and Art Activities

7. Nutrition Math Problem & Links to Related Web Sites

8. Foreign Word Pronunciation Audio

9. Swahili Pronunciation Audio

10. Geography Activity & Links to Related Sites

11. Photo & Illustration

1. LA, FL, SS, A*, M*

2. LA,SS

3. LA, SS

4.LA, SS, SC

5. LA, SS, A, TA*

6. SC, LA,SS, M*

7. SC, LA, SS, M


8. LA, FL, SS

9. LA, FL, SS

10. G, SS, LA


11. LA, FL, SC

Curriculum Areas Code: LA = Language Arts; SS = Social Studies; G = Geography; FL = Foreign Languages; SC = Science, M = Math; A = Art; TA = Theater Arts; * = Connection to this area of the curriculum found in Curriculum Connections pages only.