A Cultural Program: Cultural Awareness Activities for American High School Students

This paper focuses on the planning, organization, and results of the Cultural Program that I presented to American, ninth grade, world Culture students. I specifically address pre-program activities, the Program itself, and post-program activities. The activities focus the students\u27 attention, create interest, and arouse their curiosity about other cultures. Cultural information on Southeast Asia is given to provide students with background knowledge prior to the Cultural Program. The program itself has three components: A slide show, dancers, and a panel discussion. Follow up exercises include a post-program questionnaire and an awareness writing activity. The format of this paper allows for a complete novice to read from beginning to end in a sequenced order of events. A reader who has more experience planning cultural programs can check the table of contents for the chapter addressing a specific component. To assist the reader who is planning a program, materials are included in the appendix that may be copied. There are basic program planning criteria that apply to similiar kinds of programs, therefore, this paper is to serve as a guide for planning a cultural event