by Marilisa Sachteleben

Created on: November 19, 2009   Last Updated: November 20, 2009

There's an old saying, 'The world is your oyster, go out, open it and find your pearl of great price.' Well, I sort of tweaked the ending. But the basic concept is that there really is a whole world out there beyond the four walls of the room. In this case, the 'room' in question is the classroom. Try as we might, as teachers, education and school can be pretty insular and encapsulated. If we are going to teach students anything, it's essential to bring the world into the classroom. Geography, culture, religion, traditions, food, dance, art, music, mores, artifacts, systems; each culture in the world has a uniquely crafted way of life. Short of booking a world tour for your students, which I think would be a fantastic use of educational funding, but will never convince anyone to take seriously; we have to work within the educational boundaries set for us. We as teachers have to 'bloom where we are planted'. Here are ten simple ways to bring the world to your students.

Use those classroom maps. They weren't put up there for decoration. Cover your walls with maps. Stick pins in them or post sticky notes to show students where in the world any event you discuss takes place. Reading a classroom book? Mark the setting on the map. Discussing a famous person? Do a quick walking tour of her life on the map. Draw routes on your map.

Host culture fairs, fashion shows and student guided travelogues. Who wants to read another stack of 'My Report on Africa' papers? Back in 1972, my mother was our Girl Scout leader. She dreamed up this awesome venue where we each put together a costume or traditional dress from a different country around the globe. Then she had a fashion show to model the clothing and discuss the country. Play recordings of world music. Help students dig up artifacts, clothing and images from around the world.

Host an international foods day in your classroom. Assign students to bring in foods from around the world. Celebrate the end of your unit on any given country or culture with a global picnic. Require that students explore various websites for recipes from around the world. Instead of a dull, desiccated test, assign them to prepare a dish from a particular country and explain how and why this food is important. In my tenth grade World Religions class, we hosted a Seder meal for Passover. My sixth grade students created an African food market for the school. I always begin each unit with a food tasting of locally grown produce. We've tasted plantain, star-fruit, kiwi, ugli fruit, prickly pear, coconut, lemon grass, mango and other world foods. TJ Maxx has a gourmet foods section and is a wonderful resource for ethnic foods.

Host a World Art and Music festival. Decorate your classroom with art and images from around the world. Play recordings of songs from around the world.

Visit a zoo and explore the wildlife of different cultures and countries.

Invite in guest speakers from different countries or those who have traveled. Ask if they would be willing to share video footage and artifacts.

Organize your classroom library in order of region and country. The Newbery collection is a wonderful place to begin collecting fiction from around the world. In the nearly one hundred years that the Newbery has been awarded, books from almost every country and culture have been selected.

Learning must stop being so two-dimensional. Use these activities to bring planet earth to your classroom doorstep.

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