Country Culture Project
You will do a presentation on a cultural aspect of a Spanish Country.
The due date for this first cultural presentation is 04/22/2015.
The purpose of this activity is to help prepare for cultural presentations. You need to think of it in relation
to how you can compare your family, city, state, country to what you researched. Think of it in terms of
what your culture is like and how you can compare that with the cultural aspect of your country. Your
culture could be as small as your school, your family, the people you go to church with, your friends and
their families. It must be something you know well and you must be able to compare. You must make
comparisons.
You will be giving two-minute presentations, but also “presentations” in a non-traditional format such as a
podcast, interview, Point/Counterpoint, etc. See attached list.
You can keep the same country, or change it as long as no one already is doing the same topic on that
country. Some of the topics work better with different countries. We will also be studying some cultural
aspects of Spanish Countries in class such as immigration, diversity, health care, etc.
First Project: Power Point Presentation 5-10 slides
Requirements:
Choose one of the cultural topics below.
Research that aspect of your country.
Prepare a two-minute presentation (in Spanish!). In order for the rest of the class to benefit from learning
about this cultural aspect, you need to create a power point presentation. Use phrases and key words to
describe your slides – do not write out whole sentences.
Example: Organization of the Government –
How is your local, state and federal government organized? How much power is placed in each one?
How is your country’s government organized? President, prime minister, king, parliament, local
governments? How much power does each one hold? How are the elections run? What are the elected
terms? Can citizens choose their government? What is the role of government in your culture/country
compared to that in your francophone country?
You may not use notes, but you have your power point. You will be able to use brief notes for future
“presentations.
Cultural presentations:
1. Country culture project/poster
2. Current event reflecting a cultural topic
3. “Podcast “ talking about a cultural topic – pretend you are a radio/television
reporter discussing that aspect of your culture.
4. A video showing a cultural topic in your neighborhood/contrasting with that of
Spanish Culture.
5. Power point presentation
6. A telephone conversation between two students each one from a different
country.
7. A debate
8. Panel of experts
9. You are visiting Spanish Country and are a guest speaker in a geography class.
Explain to the class one aspect of your culture
10. Role Play: Two old people talking about their favorite sports teams/players
11. Two people sitting in an airplane talking about vacation/family/sports
12. Create a game infusing it with culture: the electrician you need is on vacation for
a month; positive and negative aspects for each culture. US against
___________________
13. Journalist “interviews” people from both countries
14. Museum curator of the future explaining works of art/cultural aspects of the
“past”
15. Talk show host interviewing a celebrity who is talking about
______________________ .The questions the host asks will be from the point of
view of his country and will show a contrast between the two cultures.
16. Make a documentary about a cultural aspect of the culture.
17. Write and illustrate a children’s book about two different countries and one of
their sports: fans, teams, gear, importance, stars, salaries, role model, etc.
18. Movie/TV/Music critic describing ____________
19. Travel brochure/parody
20. CNN guest host of Point/Counter Point where you “discuss” a cultural aspect
of a Spanish Country.
Examples of Cultural Aspects of your Culture and a Francophone Country
Organization of the Government – How
is your francophone country’s government
organized? President, prime minister, king,
parliament, local governments? how much
power does each one hold? How are the
elections run? What are the elected
terms? Can citizens choose their
government? What is the role of
government in your culture/country
compared to that in your francophone
country
Importance of learning a language at
what age do students start learning a
language, how many languages do
students typically take in high school; how
useful is a second language (or third) after
high school or college
Immigration – what is the immigration
policy of the country; how much diversity is
in the country; how is diversity reflected in
the country’s culture
Importance of school/school system –
what is the organization of the school
system; how many people go on to
college; what is the percentage of jobs that
require a college education; how hard is it
to get in to college; how much does
college cost; how well does secondary
education train students for work or
college; what opportunities do secondary
students have in each country
Le patrimoine culturel – literary, artistic,
symbolic, ritualistic – what are examples of
the country’s cultural foundations? Are
there important authors who are identified
with that culture? For example for the US –
Literary: Gettysburg address, the
Declaration of Independence, authors:
Importance of politics: How soon before
the election do candidates start
campaigning? How many candidates run
for office in an election? What is the nature
of the campaign ads (if any)? Are they
radio, TV, newspaper, billboards? Are
there run-off elections/primaries? How
many political parties are there? How
influential is the minority party (not the
party of the president/prime minister)
Transportation what are the most
common means of transportation; what are
some factors that would affect the means
of transportation in the country; are there
plans to implement new types of
transportation
Work – hours worked, days off, paid leave
– what is the attitude toward work – work
as much as you can? Get ahead? Pay the
bills? How many hours a week do most
people work; how much vacation do
people get; are there paid leaves
(maternity/paternity, sick leave, to care for
a sick relative, etc.) How does the amount
a society works reflect their attitude toward
life/money/family
Role of social media; how much is it
used; how much has it permeated work,
young people, school, as a means to
communicate, etc; how does it influence
the culture of a society;
Rites of passage- are there rites of
passage in your society (getting a driver’s
license, graduating from high school;
quinciñeros?) How do these influence the
culture of the society; do they affect
people’s buying habits; how are they
recognized among friends/family/others
Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, Tom
Clancy, artistic: Andy Warhol, Symbols:
the American flag, the bald eagle, Rituals:
putting out carved pumpkins for
Halloween, scary movies during October,
Charlie Brown Christmas show first week
of December, the inauguration of the
president, state of the union address
Driving , ages, requirements – is driving
important in society; is it valued; how many
people (percentage) have a car; how
necessary is a car; how does having a car
influence/matter to youth or to a certain
group of people
Food/food habits that influence your daily
life – how important is fast food to people’s
daily eating habits; how much fast food is
available; do families generally eat
together; are there important days where
people traditionally eat together; who does
the food shopping; how often; what types
of places do people go to buy food
How do we protect the environment – is
recycling important; what about water
usage – are there certain habits people
have regarding water usage – brushing
teeth/shower vs bath, watering; how do
communities handle recycling; how wide
spread is it; are people conscious about
recycling?
Family structure – how important are
extended family members; do people get
together often with extended family
members; are family celebrations
important; how long to children usually live
at home; how do families take care of
aging grand parents; does the time stores,
etc. close affect family members
Holidays (not religious)/traditions – what
are some national holidays; how are they
Role of the movies – how do movies
affect culture; how much are movies talked
about; who goes to see movies; what is
the target audience for the movies; how do
movie ratings reflect societal values; are
there any movies or lines from movies that
become cultural references or recognized
by most people
The effect of the media – how important
are newspapers, news shows, online
news, fake news shows, etc.; how much
do people pay attention to the media; are
the media influential; are they spokesmen
for the people; do they influence the
government or people in power; do they
affect any change at all
The role that sports plays – how important
are sports in school; at what age to
children start playing sports; what are the
major sports in the country; how does that
reflect the attitude of the people; does it
influence what people buy; how much are
sports part of the conversation; are there
rivalries between fans of different teams;
how does that affect culture or society;
how much money is in sports; are there a
lot of famous players in every sport; how
are they regarded in society
Vacation; where do people go on
vacation; how far do they travel; how often
do they go on vacation; how often do they
leave home – weekends? Only school
breaks; where do they go – visit family,
visit sites; cabin; how does the amount of
vacation reflect the attitude people have
towards work, relaxation, stress
Music – how important is music; how
many music shows are there; what kinds
celebrated; why are they important;
The role of TV – how often do people
watch TV; what do they watch; do TV
shows influence the culture; do they start
trends - examples
Health care system; how important is
health care; what is the health care
system; what percentage of people have
or don’t have health care; what does the
availability of health care say about the
values of the country
A scientific discovery/invention that has
improved people’s lives – what is it; how
does it influence how people work, study,
communicate, etc.;
The role of religion in that culture – what
are the major religions; percentage of
people per religion; how does religion
affect the culture; are there catholic high
schools or other types of religious high
schools; how does the religion affect
decisions by the government and laws.
of radio stations are there; where do
people get there music; how do they listen
to it; are there awards shows; are there
talent shows on TV – how many; are there
a lot of different kinds of music
Cultural diversity – how important is it to
your community compared to that of a
community in a francophone country.
Art and music as a representation of the
culture of a country
Housing and how it reflects cultural
diversity in a francophone culture