Breathwaite mini-grant project: an ABC photo gallery. (ACEI Elizabeth Breathwaite Mini-Grant Award).

Jane Hodges was awarded an Elizabeth Breathwaite Mini-Grant for 2001. The funds will go to support her on-line project, "My ABCs of the World." The following is a summation of her project:

As the world has shrunk, due to faster communication and transportation and improved technology, we have become part of a global village. Today, not only teenagers but also young children travel worldwide and therefore need preparation on the specific characteristics and values of various cultural groups. Redistributions of populations, through intercontinental business and government links, find foreign residents in small town neighborhoods. Therefore, international understanding must be "built in" at all levels of education, beginning in preschool.

My ABCs of the World furnishes appropriate pictures (original photographs taken by the author) with captions organized by the alphabet; 26 pictures reflect the culture, art, food, people, and environment of six geographic regions. The everyday experiences shown will help children realize how much children everywhere have in common. In addition, children learn about the need to work together as we move into an international environment.

The author took the photographs as she traveled to over 60 countries on education-related trips. For this project, they are arranged by region: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, and South Pacific. Each slide is accompanied by a short narration that young children will find interesting. The places, people, culture, and education of each region are emphasized. The project can be found at http://edistopress.net. Additional research on these countries, with appropriate lesson plans, is available in the follow-up teacher activity book, Children Around the World, also available on the above Web site. Students and teachers have the opportunity to learn more about the world and appreciate different cultures.

The project was field-tested at Campus Primary Developmental Research School in Brevard County, Florida. Children had a better understanding of the world through the implementation of the project, as expressed by the school founder, Elaine Clifford, President of the Florida ACEI Branch. The results of the project have been shared at professional conferences, in teacher workshops, and on the Internet.

My ABC Photo Gallery

Caption examples from Asia:

* Eating in India is often done on the streets, where people sell many kinds of food from baskets.

* Food in Indian cookery depends on the use of spices. Common spices are saffron, turmeric, asafetida, garlic, ginger, onion, vanilla, cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, mustard, nutmeg, mace, dhal, and clove.

Caption examples from Europe:

* Horses covered in armor carried knights riding in jousts (battles) for sport and to settle disputes during the olden days. This display was located in the Tower of London.

* Sailing ships used by the Vikings of Norway were unique in shape and able to withstand high turbulent seas.

Caption examples from the South Pacific:

* Astronaut Andy Thomas is from Adelaide, Australia, but he lives in Houston, Texas, with the other American astronauts. He recently lived aboard the Mir Space Station. (The spacecraft of Paul Skully Power, the first Australian in space, October 1984, is found in the Power House Museum in Sydney.)

* Canoes used by the Maori as they traveled from New Zealand are found in the Watonga Treaty House. This is the location where English and Maori chiefs signed a treaty giving Britain sovereign rule of the island in hopes of restoring order after years of fighting.

Caption examples from Africa:

* Bush of the Ambosili Wildlife Refuge in Kenya.

* Red robes and red dyed hair distinguish the Maasai tribe of Africa.

Caption examples from the Middle East:

* Desert dams, such as the Aswan High Dam, give life to the desert community. Ninety-six percent of the area of Egypt, and much of the Middle East, is desert.

* Khufu, the Great Pyramid, and Khafre and Mycerinus, the smallest of the 4th dynasty pyramids, stand today at Giza much as they did thousands of years ago. These massive structures have endured as lasting memories to the ancient rulers and to the civilizations that built them. The great pyramids took 100,000 men over a period of 20 years to build.

Caption examples from Latin America:

* Grandmothers help care for their village children, as extended families are the norm.

* Nests that swing from atop the rainforest trees.