Ten Cultural Projects to Enrich Foreign Language, Geography, and Social Studies Courses

Discovering new cultures is both fun and enriching. While travel is the ultimate way to experience the lifestyle, history, food, and customs of another country, you can encourage your students to explore foreign cultures through fascinating, personal projects.

In my foreign language classes, I offer my students a choice of cultural topics to explore 2-4 times a year. The kids love tailoring the project to their personal interests. By sharing the finished product with the class, everyone benefits from diverse, cultural exposure.

Whether in a traditional classroom or home school, these projects are perfect for complementing foreign language, social studies, or geography courses. Give these ten fun cultural projects a try:

1. Travel Brochure
Students research a foreign country and prepare a travel brochure. Information should include photos, basic factual information, and an overview of climate, food, holidays, and things to see.

2. Biography Research and Presentation
Students prepare and present a report on a famous artist, scientist, political leader or historical figure from the target culture. Some students really bring their famous figure to life by becoming the character through costume and role-play.

3. Skit, Puppet Show, or Video
Students prepare a performance for the class. (In my classes, the skits are performed in the foreign language.) The topic could be a travelogue, a restaurant scene, a music video, etc. It should include cultural content or a cultural misunderstanding. As a teacher, I look for creativity, props, costumes, and effort.

4. Poetry Recitation
Students memorize and perform a piece of poetry from the target culture. There is a lot of potential for illustrations, props, and creative interpretation. There are children's poems and classic literature rich in cultural heritage.

5. Instrumental or Vocal Presentation
Students perform a musical piece from the target culture. A written report about the composer accompanies the performance. One of my former students once worked for weeks with her personal voice coach to perform an operatic piece in French! Magnifique!

6. Art Study and Presentation
Students choose a piece of artwork by an artist from the target culture and make a reproduction. A written report about the artist accompanies the artwork.

7. Interview
Students interview someone they know who is a native of the target culture, or who has lived there for 6 months or longer. I have enjoyed video and audio recordings, as well as guest speakers.

8. Food Preparation and Presentation
Students prepare an ethnic food from the target culture and a written report about where the food is from, when it is eaten, how it's prepared, key ingredients in the foreign language, and the recipe itself. Then we eat. This is one of the kids' favorites!

9. Restaurant Review
Students choose a local ethnic restaurant and order an authentic dish. They write a restaurant review and include information about the atmosphere, price range, menu choices, and details about their meal. In addition, they prepare a poster advertising the restaurant.

10. Meal Preparation for the Family
I saved the best for last. Students plan a multi-course ethnic dinner for their family and guests. They must make menus, shop, cook, serve, and clean-up. Students turn in a memory book or a poster which displays the menu, photos, and comment cards filled out by the guests. My students have consistently amazed me with this project. It's a lot of work, but they love it and learn a lot. I'll never forget two 7^th grade boys who prepared a truly elegant meal for their parents. The boys dressed in suits and ties to serve the meal, lit candles, and even borrowed CD's from me in order to provide authentic background music. The food looked incredible. I imagine they are restaurateurs today!

Finally, I offer students the option of creating their own idea. There might be a special performance in town, or a talent I hadn't considered. Students sign a contract once they select their project (with both teacher and parent approval). They may present their project anytime over the course of the marking period.

Enjoy discovering foreign cultures with your students.