Central & Eastern Europe
Lessons address stories, letters, and folk tales that focus on Peace Corps Volunteer experiences in both rural and urban areas of Central and Eastern Europe.
- A Year
- Students will closely examine an author's philosophical look at life through superficially mundane, but ultimately meaningful, anecdotes he describes as a teacher in Uzbekistan.
- Capturing the Reader With Vivid Images
- Students will examine how the author tries to capture the reader's imagination immediately, through imagery--and hold on to it.
- Enough to Make Your Head Spin
- Students will learn to appreciate the value of nonverbal communication, focusing on the shaking or nodding of one's head, and the meanings attached to each activity in Bulgaria and in the United States.
- Fate vs. Mind: A Macedonian Folk Tale
- Students will find and appreciate that folk tales, a stylized genre of literature, tell more than stories; they convey morals or lessons. Looking into various aspects of this folk tale, students will also weigh the strengths of fate and consciousness, Folk tales can also be told in a stylized manner, as this one is.
- Half Man, Half Limping Rabbit
- A simple folk tale on the surface, the story told by Nina Porzucki holds deeper meaning that students can probe, ultimately examining the possible advantages of mortality over immortality.
- Identifying and Using Parallelism and Balance in Literature
- Students will examine the story for use of balanced sentences and parallelism—two literary devices—and then practice using those devices in writing of their own.
- International Curiosity and National Pride
- Students will look at their own culture and at Bulgarian culture to identify national, local, or ethnic traits, while at the same time attempting not to over-generalize about any particular group of people.
- Ivan the Fool Lesson 1
- Students will read a classic folk tale for comprehension and enjoyment.
- Ivan the Fool Lesson 2
- Students will learn that different cultures respect or fear certain numbers, numbers that can appear in folklore in several ways.
- Ivan the Fool Lesson 3
- Students will learn that a quest is central to many folk stories, and they will write their own, incorporating a quest.
- Just an Ordinary Day
- Students will weigh the old with the modern in contemporary Romania and examine how culture changes with the introduction of new elements.
- Looking Back
- Students will weigh the advantages and disadvantages of a state-controlled social system and look into the strains that occur in the transition of a state-controlled system to a democracy, such as that occurring in Macedonia.
- Picture Perfect
- Students will use literature to explore cultural norms in another country and compare them with their own experiences.
- Reduce, Re-use, Recycle
- The importance of recycling to reduce waste, to employ trash in useful ways, and to save the environment all feature in students' review of this letter from Romania.
- Starting Off the Day (and School Year) in Ukraine
- Students will compare the first day of school in Ukraine with the first day of school in the United States, including the challenges students and teachers both face in each country.
- The Extra Place Lesson
- Students take up the challenge of deciding what to do when confronted by a difficult and awkward situation.
- The Importance of Speaking Another Language
- Students will evaluate how important it can be to speak a language other than their own.
- The Third Question
- Students will reflect upon the rewards of providing services to others, and whether by giving they might perhaps be gaining at the same time.
- To Your Health
- Students will focus on how storks and other cultural icons, in both Bulgarian and American customs, are believed to encourage and bring good health.
- Where I Come From
- Students will examine family traditions as a microcosm of larger cultures.