Latin America & the Caribbean
Lessons address stories, letters, poems, and folk tales that focus on Peace Corps Volunteer experiences in the Western Hemisphere.
- Beyond Demographics
- Students will learn more about the Dominican Republic through watching and discussing a video about the country and its people.
- Conducting Interviews in the Community
- Students will conduct individual interviews to find out in depth how people in their own communities provide services to others.
- Explore More About Bottle Construction
- Many Peace Corps Volunteers collaborate with their host communities to make the best use of locally available materials. Explore the stories from Peace Corps Volunteers who served in Guatemala and collaborated with community members on bottle construction projects. Then extend students' learning from these stories using the accompanying teaching suggestions.
- Geography, Climate, and Community in the Dominican Republic
- Students will begin to familiarize themselves with the geography and culture of the Dominican Republic.
- Hurricane
- Students will learn about the nature of hurricanes: climate conditions, geographic factors and effects on human systems. With repetitive readings of the story, students will also gain reading fluency, use of context clues and practice flow of supporting details. The effect of Hurricane Georges upon the Dominican Republic will be examined.
- Life in a Hurricane Zone
- Students will learn about the nature of hurricanes and examine in detail the effect of Hurricane Georges upon the Dominican Republic.
- 'Magic' Pablo Lesson
- Students examine what goes into hero worship and establishing unlikely friendships.
- Overseas Phone Call from Bolivia
- For many ESOL students, deciphering and extracting information without visual cues is a challenging task. With this directed listening activity, students will use "previewing" strategies to better comprehend and learn about the experience of Peace Corps Volunteer Joe Stevens: his likes, dislikes, types of animals in Bolivia, food and sports. Students will also be able to locate Bolivia on a map and use a topographical map and clues to estimate Joe's location in the country.
- Overseas Phone Call from Costa Rica
- For many ESOL students, deciphering and extracting information without visual cues is a challenging task. With this directed listening activity, students will use "previewing" strategies to better comprehend and learn about the experience of a Peace Corps Volunteer: likes, dislikes, types of animals, festivals, language, food and sports may be discussed. Students will also be able to locate the country on a map.
- Perspectives on Paraguay
- Students examine cultural differences between Paraguay and the United States.
- Planning a Service Project
- Students will implement what they have learned about serving communities by planning and undertaking a community service project.
- Press Conference on Hurricane Georges
- To reinforce oral communication skills, organize a "press conference" on Hurricane Georges.
- Quak-wah-tania and Her Sisters
ESOL language proficiency levels: beginner, intermediate
Students will appreciate folk tales as a universal genre with similar elements and life lesson to be learned, no matter the culture or country of origin. They will also practice reading fluency by starting with increased background knowledge and repetitive readings in interactive formats.
- Searching for Meanings Beneath the Surface of the Poem
- Students will examine the poem and compare perspectives of the author and the subjects of his poem.
- Service Projects in the Dominican Republic
- Students will look into how Peace Corps Volunteers have provided community assistance in the Dominican Republic.
- Starting Your Own Small Business
- Students learn about a small poultry business project that Peace Corps Volunteer Brian Lewandowski began with youth in the Caribbean nation of St. Vincent. After viewing the slideshow Raising Chickens, Empowering Youth, students engage in a math investigation in which they plan their own fictional poultry businesses.
- Taking Action!
- Students will read the story Happy Hearts in Manabí by Peace Corps Volunteer Kristen Mallory. After learning about Kristen's work promoting heart health in Ecuador, students will consider how educating others can be a form of service, prioritize health education issues in their own communities, and create educational materials for a local audience. As an extension of this lesson, students may organize a health education event within their school or local community.
- The True Cost of Coffee
- Students will examine the economic, health, and environmental risks of a one-crop economy in the developing world.
- Understanding Demographics
- Students will use demographic information to gain an understanding of the Dominican Republic.
- What Is Good Use of Time?
- Students delve into questions about how best to use one's time—in one culture or another.
- Where in the World Is the Dominican Republic?
- Students will examine the effect of one's environment upon how one lives, and they will begin to investigate the geography of the Dominican Republic.
- Why Does Service Matter?
- Students will sum up what they have found about why and how other people serve their communities and why service matters.
- Windmills and Blogs: The Impact of Technology in Rural Peru
- Students will view a Peace Corps Volunteer's slide show and discuss the uses of two technologies—windmills and computers—in a Peruvian village. This lesson encourages students to explore the role of technology in society and reflect on the role of technology in their own community.
- Working for the Common Good
- Students will examine the concept of the common good and evaluate how it applies to providing assistance in a developing country.