People's Lives : A Celebration of the Human Spirit
Cultural Universals Game
Teacher’s Guide
by Carol Schlenk



Introduction

In the exhibit, People's Lives: A Celebration of the Human Spirit, the viewer sees 60 photographs taken around the world by photographer Bill Wright. These images take us inside the homes, businesses and schools of everyday people and reveal to us the positive aspects of their lives through the rich tapestries of their cultures.

Lesson Focus

In the Cultural Universals Game, students will view selected photographs from the exhibit, People's Lives: A Celebration of the Human Spirit and then choose from several cultural universals (see list below) to determine which ones best correspond with each photo, using context clues in each photo to help them make necessary inferences. Correct answers will score points, which will be tallied for a final score.

Before having students view the online exhibit and play this game, take time to go over with them the following vocabulary and information on cultural universals.

Vocabulary

Culture
the knowledge, beliefs, customs, arts, and material traits of a social group
cultural universals
aspects of culture shared by all cultures, everywhere
infer
to understand or conclude on the basis of various facts, impressions, judgments, etc.
inference
an inferring or deducing
context clue
the part of a reading or picture that can throw light on its meaning


Categorizing Cultural Universals

There are many ways to categorize cultural universals, and the following list illustrates just one way to do so. Perhaps the best way to categorize them is to introduce the concept of the cultural universal to your students, and then let them, as a class, brainstorm numerous examples and categories for themselves. The websites below this list also show ways to categorize cultural universals.
  • Cultural Universals


    • Economy
    tools - goods - businesses - transportation
    Institutions
    government - education - ethnic groups
    Art
    crafts - art - literature
    Language
    symbols - writing systems - words
    Beliefs
    religions - morals - values
    Recreation
    games - toys - arts
    Material Culture
    food - shelter - clothing


  • Examples of Cultural Universals


Extension Activities

  • Create Cultural Universals Collages


    • Materials Needed:
      • old magazines
      • scissors
      • glue
      • posterboard or tagboard
      • small slips of paper


      Define and list cultural universals with students and post the list in a visible place in the classroom. Divide the class into groups of 3 or 4 students. From the list of cultural universals, choose a number of them to correspond with the number of groups in the class. On small slips of paper, write out one cultural universal per slip. Then have each group send a representative to the front of the room to choose a cultural universal on a slip of paper. His group will work on the cultural universal that he or she chooses. Each group's choice of topics should be kept secret from all other groups, as they will later be guessing which cultural universal the other groups represented on their posters.

      Give each group a posterboard, several magazines, scissors and glue. Advise them to look through their magazines for pictures and photos which represent the cultural universal they chose. They should then cut out the pictures and arrange them into a collage by gluing them onto their posterboard.

      When the collages are completed, have each group choose a representative to show that group's collage to the class. Members of the other groups will make inferences from the collage being presented, and will try to guess which cultural universal is being represented in the presenting group's collage. Questions for students: What context clues on this collage did you use to help you guess which cultural universal it represents? What problems did your group experience in creating your collage?



  • Drawing Cultural Inferences from Photographs


    • In this activity, students will view a photograph they've not seen before, and infer cultural information from it.

    • Materials Needed:


      • An interesting photographic image that can be made visible to the entire class
      • List of inferencing questions (see below) that correspond to the photograph


      Choose an interesting photograph which represents as many aspects of a culture as possible. The photo you choose should include people. Your school library probably has photography anthologies that include many appropriate photos. History books are also useful, as are National Geographic magazines. Copy down as much factual information about your chosen photo as possible, trying to answer the questions in the list below.

      Find a way to make your chosen photograph visible to the entire class. You can use the photo to make a slide, a good overhead transparency, or enough clear photocopies so that each of several groups have a copy to work with.

      Create a list of questions that each student group should answer after viewing the photograph. The list could include the following:

      Where do you think this was photo taken? What context clues helped you answer this question? When do you think the photo was taken? Context clues? Why was the photo probably taken? Context clues? Do the people in the photo know they're being photographed? Context clues? If they know they're being photographed, how do they feel about it? Context clues? What socioeconomic group do you think the people in this photo belong to? Context clues? What do you think the people in the photo are doing? Why do you think they're engaging in this activity? What cultural universals are included in this photograph?
      Show the photo to the class. Explain that while the students know nothing about the people or situation in the photo, they can make some inferences (educated guesses) about them by using context clues in the photo itself. For example, if the women are wearing floor-length skirts, the photo was probably taken before 1914. Clothing, modes of transportation, and other examples of technology can all provide useful context clues.

      Have the students get into groups of 3-4. Distribute the list of questions and advise the students to work together to answer them.

      When all groups have answered all the questions, ask a representative from each group to read their answers. Compare each group's answers. Then read the actual information about the photograph to the class and compare it to the answers given by the students. Ask students how difficult it was to infer information and draw conclusions from the photo's context clues.



Meeting Curriculum Standards with the "Cultural Universals Game"

This learning activity fits within the following National Voluntary Curriculum Standards:

  • Social Studies

    • Culture
    • Time, Continuity & Change
    • People, Places & Environment
    • Global Connections
    • Individuals, Groups & Institutions
  • Engllish Language Arts

    • Reading for Information
    • Synthesizing Data
    • Use of Technology and Informational Resources
  • Art

    • Develop and present basic analyses of works of art Be able to relate various types of arts knowledge and skills within and across the arts disciplines
This activity also meets the following standards from the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for 6th grade World History and Geography, English Language Arts and Reading, and Fine Arts, and can be adapted to grade levels 7-12.

  • Social Studies

    • Geography 7
    • Culture 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
    • Social Studies Skills 21, 22

  • English Language Arts

    • Reading 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14

  • Fine Arts

    • Historical-Cultural Heritage 3
    • Response-Evaluation 4


Additional Related Websites

Photography History
Comprehensive set of links to photo exhibits, history of photography, famous photographers, etc.

American Museum of Photography
Museum gallery and information

Bill Wright - Fine Art Photographs
Black & White and color photographs from around the world