In this lesson, students will review and reinforce inference skills while learning about ethnocentrism.
You will need to gather images of signs before starting this activity. Start online, but you may also want to take pictures of local street signs in your area or pictures of foreign signs during travels.
Start with a familiar American street sign. Students may make comments like “That’s easy. I know what that means.” However, the absence of words on the sign requires students to decipher the message based on color, pictorial clues and past experiences.
Discuss the sign’s color, how its images are used and locations where students have seen the sign previously. Moving on to a second sign, you could ask students to contrast the font and color. Continue with one or two more signs found in your community.
Next, move on to unfamiliar signs. I have an image of a sign from Japan that cautions viewers not to engage the wildlife. The sign has a man who looks like he’s boxing a bear with a large “X” over the man and bear. The students get quite a chuckle over this unfamiliar sign.
I allow students to discuss what is prompting their giggles, pointing out they didn’t laugh at the school crossing sign, even though both have a safety message. Be prepared to address derogatory remarks, such as, “That’s a dumb sign, who’s going to punch a bear? If I see a bear, I’m going to run.” The bias favoring one’s own culture should be addressed as students voice their explanations for laughing. Remind them to use their inference skills, and they should come up with reasonable explanations of the sign’s meaning.
Afterwards, I give this definition of ethnocentrism: the tendency to evaluate the values, beliefs and behaviors of your own culture as being more positive, logical or natural than those of other cultures. We then discuss the consequences of ethnocentrism. I also use this opportunity to stress the patience and tolerance that should be afforded to those who are unfamiliar with the local culture.
Mollie Surguine
On Track Tutoring and Academy
Scottsdale, Ariz.
