Stop Signs Around the World
Celebrating Our Differences, Exploring Our Similarities
My Stop Signs
by Carol Anne McGuire and Anne Reardon
Essential Questions
Objectives
Students will:
Materials
Engaging and Effective Activities
Essential Questions
- How are people around the world alike?
How are people around the world different?
What factors make our lives similar to or different from those in other countries?
Objectives
Students will:
- Create a podcast dictionary of stop signs around the world
Recognize stop signs from around the world
Listen to the word for stop in different languages and try to say it
Compare and contrast how stop signs look and how the word for stop sounds around the world
Use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge
Develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles
Materials
- Digital photographs of stop signs from around the world
Digital audio files of the word stop being said in languages to match the photos
GarageBand 3 [http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/]
iLife [http://www.apple.com/ilife/]
iWork [http://www.apple.com/iwork/]
Internet access
Examples of digital photos and audio files are included in the Apple Learning Interchange Gallery. Teachers are free to download these for classroom use and are invited to add their own resources.
Engaging and Effective Activities
- Note: This podcast can be created by the teacher for student use OR the students can create it themselves. This lesson plan is designed to guide teachers through the process of having students create the podcast. Learn more about how to create a podcast [http://help.apple.com/garageband/index.html#gbnda199f7b6]
1. Introduce this lesson by showing students a picture of the familiar red and white stop sign and asking what it means. Discuss where stop signs are located.
Are they ever in different colors or shapes?
Have you ever seen a stop sign from another country?
Allow students to discuss their own experiences with stop signs.
2. Have them brainstorm other places around the world and list these places on a chart. Discuss what their stop signs might look like. Tell students that they are going to work in groups to research what stop signs look like around the world and how to say the word for stop in the language of each of those places. They will also use Google Maps [http://maps.google.com] to locate that place on a world map.
3. Divide students into teams of three. To incorporate diversity within the classroom and the families of the students, the teams can select to research the stop signs from a country of particular interest to them. Each student will have a role: one will locate the photo, one will find the map and save its URL, and the third will find the audio file.
There is a sample of digital photos of stop signs and audio files of the word for stop located in the ALI gallery. Teachers can provide these resources to their students or have the students collect them on their own. Photos should be imported into iPhoto and audio files should be imported into iTunes.
Locating the country on Google Maps [http://maps.google.com]. Type the name of the country in the search box. (It is recommended that the students find a map that shows as much of the world as possible with the green arrow pointing to the country being studied. This will give the students an idea of where the country is located.) At the right of the screen there is a button that reads Link to this map. Click that button and then copy the URL that appears in the next window. Paste that URL into a document and save it for use in the podcast.
4. Once the students have gathered these materials, they will compile them in such a way as to be able to transfer them to the computer that will be used to create the podcast. This can be done via an external hard drive, file sharing, or whatever method works best for your situation. Once the files are delivered to that computer, put the pictures into iPhoto, the sound files into iTunes, and keep the rest wherever they are easily accessible.
5. Teams will meet individually with the teacher to compile their part of the podcast. For the first team, start by opening GarageBand and choosing New Podcast Episode. Name the file (for example, Stop Signs Around the World) and save to your preferred location. (With subsequent teams, simply reopen the file and add to the existing podcast. Do not create a new file for each group of students.)
6. Begin by clicking the Photos button in the Media Browser at the right of the window. (If you do not see the Media Browser, click the button to the far right of the window in the gray bar.) Navigate to the stop sign picture from that group of students. Drag the photo into the top track, where it says, Drag Artwork here.
7. Go back to the Media Browser and click the Audio button. Navigate through the iTunes library to find the audio file of the word for stop collected by this group of students. Choose Track > New Track. In the dialog that appears, select Real Instrument. This will create a new track. Drag the audio file into this track and line up the beginning with the beginning of the photo. Drag the end of the photo so it matches the end of the audio file.
8. Click the Podcast Track. In the panel that appears at the bottom of the window, enter the chapter title (country name). Under the URL title, type whatever you want to call the link (such as Google Map). Under the URL, paste the URL you got from the Google Map site.
9. Repeat this procedure to create a new chapter for each country.
10. To publish your podcast, use the Share menu commands to send it to iTunes or to save to your computer.
Assessment Methods
- Teacher observation
Student projects (podcasts)
Peer review
Enrichment/Extension Activities
- This lesson can be used to extend other vocabulary by choosing words or phrases to represent other things common to children around the world, such as words for school supplies, travel phrases, or common household items.
Students who need a challenge can research how each word is written and then compare the spoken word to how it looks. Discuss the differences in alphabets when appropriate.
Younger students or students with certain learning difficulties could draw a stop sign and use that as the image. They can then use sound files from around the world and include the maps to show how the word stop is said in those places.
Students can extend research by finding the words in a variety of modalities.
Differentiation Strategies
- Modifications for early learners or reinforcement of basic skills:
Drawing pictures
Downloading digital images
Listening to audio files
iChat AV
- Modifications for students with special needs:
Content provided in sign language, Braille, audio formats, and so on
Connections
- Curriculum Connections : Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, Science, World Languages
Global Connections : There are opportunities for live communication between students in different places via iChat AV