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June 2001
Peace Corps: World Wise Schools
http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/
GRADE LEVEL: 3-12
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CONTENT:
World Wise Schools is the multi-cultural educational program of the U.S. Peace Corps. It includes curriculum materials designed to "engage students in inquiry about the world, themselves, and others."
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AESTHETICS:
A professional layout and great graphics make this site interesting and appealing. Visitors will need RealPlayer for viewing videos.
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ORGANIZATION:
The site is divided into three main areas: Educators, Students, and Peace Corps Community. Each area is further subdivided into sections that are listed on the left of the page. A site map and a top navigation menu on all pages link back to the home page and other areas.
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REVIEW:
World Wise Schools demonstrates the power of the Web by introducing current, authentic, real-world experiences into the classroom. Teachers will find a variety of instructional resources, cross-curricular lesson plans, guides, and more for teaching about culture and countries. Students will be able to use the maps, information, videos, and original content from Peace Corps volunteers for report writing. Two learning modules of particular interest are Water in Africa and Culture Matters. Water in Africa is an extensive unit with very detailed lesson plans that are supported by a video, stories, and photos from more than 20 African countries. Lesson plans are included for each grade cluster (3-5, 6-9, and 10-12) and can be sorted by grade, title, or subject. Culture Matters is a cross-cultural workbook, available in English and Spanish that can be downloaded from the site and is used for training new Peace Corps volunteers. A Trainer's Guide is also offered with more than 40 practical exercises designed to help increase students' cross-cultural understandings. All the curriculum materials at this site are tied to national standards and are free.
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