Etymology of names

This lesson features an introduction to etymology and sources of first names in different cultures. Greek
names are first analyzed and then names of foreign students (immigrants) in our school in an attempt to share
our roots. Students understand how names reveal our identities in an attempt to foster respect for individual
worth and human dignity. Through analyzing primary source documents students discuss what it means to be
renamed when immigrating to another country, and also the difference between cultural assimilation and
multiculturalism.
Lesson Plan

Activity 1: Learning About Your Own Name

Activity 2: What’s In a Name – Foreign names: their sources and meanings

Activity 3: Losing a Name, Choosing Another
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Activity 4: Discuss the difference between cultural assimilation vs. multiculturalism
Homework
PPPs with the etymology and history of names.
Cross-cultural fables

This lesson explores parallel fables and folktales from various cultures. While each culture and geographic
region of the world has its own body of folk tales and fables that considers "its own," certain themes, plots,
characters and motifs tend to be repeated across many countries and time periods. Fables-as-culture-models
tend to take on the ‘color’ of the location they are told while trying to teach universal lessons about human
emotions such as love, hate, courage, kindness, and foolishness.
Activities:

Activity 1: Listening to a Greek fable and answering general comprehension questions

Activity 2: Reading two fables and filling in a Storyboard. Retelling the fables.

Activity 3: Filling Idea Wheels for three fables. Comparing and contrasting.
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Activity 4: Answering questions about the cultural features of the fables

Activity 5: Looking at the stories through the Feminist and the Marxist perspective

Activity 5: Writing an original modern fable to go with a moral.
Air Castles:Folktales about daydreams of wealth and fame
1.
The Milkmaid and Her Pail (Greece, Aesop)
The Broken Pot (India, The Panchatantra).
2.
3.
The Barber's Tale of His Fifth Brother (1001 Nights).
4.
5.
6.
Homework: An Anthology of fables, Famous Fabulists (PPPs)
The Dervish and the Honey Jar (Jewish).
The Lad and the Fox (Sweden, Gabriel Djurklou).
The Peasant and the Cucumbers (Russia, Leo Tolstoy).
Coffee culture around the world

Going for coffee involves more than just consuming the beverage itself. It is a small social event as part of
everyday life. Countries have formed their own rituals around coffee, each region’s coffee taste acknowledged
as being related to its history, work habits and style. Coffee is directly connected to hospitality in home and
commercial settings. Thus, it can be studied as a multicultural experience. Coffee and health, or benefits and
risks of drinking coffee is integrated in this lesson as it is taught within the realm of Health education.
Activity 1: pictures of coffeehouses around the world
Activity 2: texts about coffee culture in various countries
Activity 3: quotations of famous people or sayings about coffee
Activity 4: discussion about coffee and health
Homework

A poster that illustrates benefits and potential risks of drinking coffee.

A questionnaire about coffee culture or coffee and health
Where maths meets fiction

This lesson uses an ethnomathematics approach to the teaching of maths and especially addresses students
who experience difficulties in learning mathematics, students who find it irrelevant to their interests, or are
from different cultures. Through reading a maths novel, ‘Uncle Petros and Goldbach’s Conjecture’(2000)
by Apostolos Doxiadis, students deal with Mathematics in context as they are introduced to maths fiction, and
can connect maths to other subjects. Students benefit from reading fiction or writing out math concepts rather
than simply solving problems.

Activity 1:

QUICK DEBATE: ‘Being a Genius Is Due to Hard Work, Not High IQ’ vs ‘Some geniuses have average IQ’

Quotations about geniuses

Read online biographies of famous mathematicians

Activity 2

Information about how prime numbers are used in everyday life

The Sieve of Eratosthenes

Exercises with prime numbers

Goldbach’s Conjecture in popular culture (films, TV series, etc)
Homework
A maths autobiography or a history of your feelings about maths
Play some online games with secret codes and messages
Nationality of films

Films reflect the cultures and nations in which they were produced. Hollywood films reflect certain things
about the American nation's culture: love of distraction, attraction to adrenaline and testosterone, good’s
triumph over evil, and belief that things work out in the end. Other cultures and nations have different values
and so produce different sorts of films.

National cinema is seen as a medium of promoting local culture, cultural diversity and national specificity,
reflecting on the nation itself, its cultural heritage, its indigenous traditions, its sense of common identity and
continuity. National films display the nation’s culture to the world when screened abroad.

Films are a collaborative medium, and a lot of people, sometimes from different nationalities, have a hand in
determining the final product of film (co-productions).
Activities

Which factors define the nationality of a film? (Language, Cast, Crew, Filming location(s), Music/soundtrack, Costumes
Story line/ Topic, Script, Audience, Genre, Values/outlook of life, Financing, Country of production)
Look at the ‘Brides’ homepage and find information about the nationality of the above.
http://thecia.com.au/reviews/b/images/brides-nyfes-production-notes.pdf

Read the reviews about Brides (see Worksheet) written by various viewers in The Internet Movie Database
(IMDb). Find out whether the reviewers are Greek, Greek of the diaspora, not Greek.

Which cultural phenomenon does the film reflect? Is it national or transnational?

Suggest some topics that the national cinema of other countries would deal with.
Homework

Write a movie Synopsis
Stereotypes and prejudices

The general concepts of stereotypes, scapegoats, prejudices, and discrimination are explored in a manner
which will enable students to understand behavior and to condemn such behavior which is inappropriate in a
modern, pluralistic society.

Students will learn how to challenge bias, unfairness and stereotypical views while developing cross-cultural
awareness and understanding
Activity 1
Students complete the questionnaire ‘I’m not a racist but…. Then they compare their answers and discuss if there
is any prejudice and bigotry in their answers or in those of their classmates. Gossary of important terms
Activity 2
Students write down five or six stereotypes for their own nationality. Was it easy to find them?
Students read the leaflet ‘THE PERFECT EUROPEAN SHOULD BE...’ Find which of the words in the
glossary can apply to the leaflet
Activity 3
Students read extracts from the Greek Constitution to find values inherent in it (e.g., freedom, liberty, justice, truth,
equality) and discuss how prejudice, discrimination, and bigotry promote values which run counter to the
Greek Constitution.
Discussion
Homework
a. Keep a log of your television watching for one day, and record in it all instances you believe a character
is being treated as a stereotype. b. Interview one of your classmates that comes from another country.
Exploring values and cultural diversity

A workshop in which participants play two games that introduce the issues of values and diversity. They learn
that people come from varied backgrounds and have different experiences, values, and cultural orientations.
These games and exercises end in a discussion about diversity issues, and the need for peer theatre to be age
appropriate and culturally appropriate.

Participants consider the diversity of the audience when developing messages because every audience is
unique in some way.

Participants learn to be inclusive, respect the fact that many in the audience will be dealing with family and
personal issues (such as divorce, difficulty staying in school, sexual identity, relationships, etc.) and try to
ensure that theatre pieces do not alienate those who may be different from them.
Game 1
Exercise: ‘Take a Stand’ /Trainer reads aloud some statements and asks participants to take a stand by agreeing or
disagreeing. If they are unsure, they can stand in the center of the room – the unsure zone, but only for one of
the statements.
Exercise: ‘Take a Stand Discussion’
Game 2
Exercise: ‘Crossing the Line’/ Trainer reads a list of personal descriptions. If any participants think the description
fits them and they feel comfortable identifying themselves, they can cross the line, turn around, and face the
rest of the group. Because some of these descriptions may be highly personal, participants have the choice not
to cross the line (and remain in place), even if the description fits them.
Exercise: ‘Crossing the Line Discussion’