Countries

 

The links on this page are intended to help religious educators with activities, lesson plans, reflections and prayers around a particular topic.  The primary emphasis is on teaching and formation tools, not on content.  If you would like to know more about this particular topic, please visit the OJP issues web page or use any good search engine.

There are two categories of resources in the table below.  Download means either that there is a downloadable document or that the text on that web page can be copied and pasted into your own document.  Online means that the activity is interactive and must be done on the computer.
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Pre-School and Primary Grades      Intermediate Grades

Middle School       High School       Adult          Teachers and Parents

Pre-school and Primary grades

Open a World of Possibilities

This is year-round project from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that focuses on a different part of the world every year with an emphasis on ending hunger.  Each project features a packet of print materials and a unique Web site that can be used in classroom (and other) settings, such as Sunday School or Vacation Bible School.  The website has much merit even without the printed materials.  The project is online and geared toward younger students.  There is a  leader’s guide.

Featured countries (and continent) are

  • Nicaragua

  • Bangladesh

  • Haiti

  • Africa

  • Tanzania

 Online Activities and lesson plans Primary and intermediate

A Nation of Many Cultures

Designed for younger students (grades K-5), this cultural lesson invites students to create a visual representation of themselves to include their family, heritage, and interests. The creations are then used to compare and contrast similarities and differences of the students. The lesson culminates with the creation of an American Flag for the bulletin board.

 Download Lesson plan K-5

Maryknoll

Maryknoll has some online resources, including some coloring book pages for very young children. 

Online with some downloads Online activities

Coloring pages

 Young children
Solidarity with Africa

This Catholic Relief Service program includes lessons and suggestions to help students learn more about Africa and build a sense of solidarity with the people of that continent. There is also a plan which breaks out a monthly theme which includes the need for community, food, compassion, peace, education, participation and inclusion, care for Creation, and work.

There is also a manual for creating a Global Solidarity Week.

 Download Lesson plans Primary through high school

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Intermediate Grades

Planet Teacher

This is a UK site so some of the information and spellings will need some “translation.”

Suggested for approximately grades 4-6. One of the buttons on the web page is the “hot news” button.  This link will send you to a page which has suggestions for follow-up action. 

  • India

  • Guatemala - Global Gang goes to Guatemala. This Planet teacher topic explores the central-American country of Guatemala.

  • Kenya - Unfair trade rules make it hard for Kenyan farmers to sell their goods at markets. This Planet teacher topic looks at life in Kenya.

You can also sign up for their e-zine free of charge.  They also send out information for use by youth group leaders.  Also free of charge.

 Online, but there is a PDF file for teachers to download Activities, background and lesson plans Intermediate grades

Trocaire

Trocaire is the Irish equivalent of Catholic Relief Services here.  Because it is an Irish web site, some of the terms will need “translation.” There is a unit about Ethiopia and one about Malawi. (The one about Malawi is entitled "Chinya" which in the Malawi language means "Score."  The lessons incorporate the Millennium Development Goals in the analysis as well as Catholic Social Teaching..

 Download Complete unit Intermediate

Open a World of Possibilities

This is year-round project from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that focuses on a different part of the world every year with an emphasis on ending hunger.  Each project features a packet of print materials and a unique Web site that can be used in classroom (and other) settings, such as Sunday School or Vacation Bible School.  The website has much merit even without the printed materials.  The project is online and geared toward younger students.  There is a  leader’s guide.

Featured countries (and continent) are

  • Nicaragua

  • Bangladesh

  • Haiti

  • Africa

  • Tanzania

 Online Activities and lesson plans Primary and intermediate
Virtual Village

This online tour takes people to Nyalakot, Uganda where the villagers live on less than $1 a day (it is a UK site so the amount given is 60 pence).  It is also a village which has been very much touched by AIDS, but where the health of people with HIV and AIDS is being addressed.

 Online Activity Intermediate through high school

Multicultural Calendar

This calendar was built by contributions from children around the world to explain their local celebrations. 

Online, but can be copied Information Intermediate grades

A Nation of Many Cultures

Designed for younger students (grades K-5), this cultural lesson invites students to create a visual representation of themselves to include their family, heritage, and interests. The creations are then used to compare and contrast similarities and differences of the students. The lesson culminates with the creation of an American Flag for the bulletin board.

 Download Lesson plan K-5
Solidarity with Africa

This Catholic Relief Service program includes lessons and suggestions to help students learn more about Africa and build a sense of solidarity with the people of that continent. There is also a plan which breaks out a monthly theme which includes the need for community, food, compassion, peace, education, participation and inclusion, care for Creation, and work.

There are also materials for

A detailed preparation tool for a six-hour journey of prayer and education for up to 100 students. The resource includes African songs, stories of African people, activities with maps and facts, a learning lunch and a celebration to close the retreat. Ideas for follow-up after the retreat experience are also included.

There is also a manual for creating a Global Solidarity Week.

 Download Lesson plans Primary through high school
Peace Corps Kids World

This website takes students to different countries around the world where the Peace Corps is at work.  The sites focus on the countries themselves as well as the work the Peace Corps does there.  The site includes the following countries:

  • Mali
  • South Africa
  • Nepal
  • Morocco
  • Russia
  • Ecuador
  • Guatemala
  • Kiribati
  • Papua New Guinea

Besides the information about the countries, students can learn about food and fun in some of the countries in order to get a sense of the culture.

 Online Activities Intermediate grades

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Middle School

World Health Organization

This page follows the prenatal development and then infant development of a child in Egypt, Ethiopia, Bolivia, India, Lao’s People Democratic Republic, and Great Britain.  It is a good window into the world of the people from these different countries.

 Online Activity Middle school through adult

Democratic Republic of Congo’s Life-or-Death Transition

CRS is promoting a free education DVD and lesson plan developed by our partner, Caritas Internationalis, detailing the conflict in the DR:  “D. R. Congo’s Life or Death Transition.”  The film and guide are meant to raise awareness about the plight of the Congolese people and support their transition to from the horrors or violence and oppression to a more peaceful, stable and democratic society that respects human dignity.

 

 Download and free DVD Complete unit Middle school through adult
Solidarity with Africa

This Catholic Relief Service program includes lessons and suggestions to help students learn more about Africa and build a sense of solidarity with the people of that continent. There is also a plan which breaks out a monthly theme which includes the need for community, food, compassion, peace, education, participation and inclusion, care for Creation, and work.

There are also materials for

A detailed preparation tool for a six-hour journey of prayer and education for up to 100 students. The resource includes African songs, stories of African people, activities with maps and facts, a learning lunch and a celebration to close the retreat. Ideas for follow-up after the retreat experience are also included.

There is also a manual for creating a Global Solidarity Week.

 Download Lesson plans Primary through high school
Virtual Village

This online tour takes people to Nyalakot, Uganda where the villagers live on less than $1 a day (it is a UK site so the amount given is 60 pence).  It is also a village which has been very much touched by AIDS, but where the health of people with HIV and AIDS is being addressed.

 Online Activity Intermediate through high school
Beyond Demographics

This lesson plan from Peace Corps World Wise Schools includes an online video.  The lesson focuses on the Dominican Republic and shows how we can learn about a country by studying the demographics, but we don't really know a country until we can meet the people and hear their stories.

 Download and online Lesson Plan Grades 6-8

Grades 9-12

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High School

World Health Organization

This page follows the prenatal development and then infant development of a child in Egypt, Ethiopia, Bolivia, India, Lao’s People Democratic Republic, and Great Britain.  It is a good window into the world of the people from these different countries.

 Online Activity Middle school through adult
A Window Into Afghanistan

This 5 lesson unit from the CRS website includes lesson plans, handouts and a powerpoint presentation. The five lessons include

  • Introduction to Afghanistan
  • The culture of Afghanistan
  • Islam
  • Muslim Women and Afghan Women
  • Rebuilding a nation
Download Complete units High school
Sudan: Remembering, Responding, and Rebuilding

These lessons from Catholic Relief Services include a free CD-Rom (you can order online), a backgrounder piece, lesson plan, powerpoint presentation and prayer service.

What can be a little confusing is that you need to visit two pages to access all the information available. Visit the resource page to find the lesson plan and the prayer service (scroll down).  Use the Sudan portal to order the CD-Rom. On the "Faces of Sudan" page there is a link for a virtual tour of a Sudanese refugee camp.

 Download and order Complete unit High school and adult

Democratic Republic of Congo’s Life-or-Death Transition

CRS is promoting a free education DVD and lesson plan developed by our partner, Caritas Internationalis, detailing the conflict in the DR:  “D. R. Congo’s Life or Death Transition.”  The film and guide are meant to raise awareness about the plight of the Congolese people and support their transition to from the horrors or violence and oppression to a more peaceful, stable and democratic society that respects human dignity.

 

 Download and free DVD Complete unit Middle school through adult
Solidarity with Africa

This Catholic Relief Service program includes lessons and suggestions to help students learn more about Africa and build a sense of solidarity with the people of that continent. There is also a plan which breaks out a monthly theme which includes the need for community, food, compassion, peace, education, participation and inclusion, care for Creation, and work.

There are also materials for

A detailed preparation tool for a six-hour journey of prayer and education for up to 100 students. The resource includes African songs, stories of African people, activities with maps and facts, a learning lunch and a celebration to close the retreat. Ideas for follow-up after the retreat experience are also included.

There is also a manual for creating a Global Solidarity Week.

 Download Lesson plans Primary through high school
CRS Prayers and Retreats

Catholic Relief Services has a page with prayer services for

  • Darfur
  • Solidarity with Africa
  • Iraq (Stepping Toward Peace) and a powerpoint meditation Praying Face to Face (with leader's guide)
  • Bringing Peace to the Holy Land
  • Natural Disaster Prayer Service
  • Prayer Service for Immigrants from Latin America
  • A Prayer Service responding to the Global HIV/AIDS crisis

There are also two retreats

  • Praying without borders
  • Solidarity with Africa
Download prayers and retreats high school and adult

Church World Service

 “Facts Have Faces.”  These are downloadable or can be ordered.

  •   Sudan: Hungry for Peace

·         Africa: In Bondage to Debt

 

 

 Download Background information Middle school through adult
Virtual Village

This online tour takes people to Nyalakot, Uganda where the villagers live on less than $1 a day (it is a UK site so the amount given is 60 pence).  It is also a village which has been very much touched by AIDS, but where the health of people with HIV and AIDS is being addressed.

 Online Activity Intermediate through high school
Beyond Demographics

This lesson plan from Peace Corps World Wise Schools includes an online video.  The lesson focuses on the Dominican Republic and shows how we can learn about a country by studying the demographics, but we don't really know a country until we can meet the people and hear their stories.

 Download and online Lesson Plan Grades 6-8

Grades 9-12
Breaching the Gulfs Between Cultures

This lesson plan centers on a Peace Corps volunteer's visit from his estranged father while he was visiting him in Sri Lanka. 

Download Lesson Plan Grades 9-12

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Adult

World Health Organization

This page follows the prenatal development and then infant development of a child in Egypt, Ethiopia, Bolivia, India, Lao’s People Democratic Republic, and Great Britain.  It is a good window into the world of the people from these different countries.

 Online Activity Middle school through adult
Sudan: Remembering, Responding, and Rebuilding

These lessons from Catholic Relief Services include a free CD-Rom (you can order online), a backgrounder piece, lesson plan, powerpoint presentation and prayer service.

What can be a little confusing is that you need to visit two pages to access all the information available. Visit the resource page to find the lesson plan and the prayer service (scroll down).  Use the Sudan portal to order the CD-Rom. On the "Faces of Sudan" page there is a link for a virtual tour of a Sudanese refugee camp.

 Download and order Complete unit High school and adult

Democratic Republic of Congo’s Life-or-Death Transition

CRS is promoting a free education DVD and lesson plan developed by our partner, Caritas Internationalis, detailing the conflict in the DR:  “D. R. Congo’s Life or Death Transition.”  The film and guide are meant to raise awareness about the plight of the Congolese people and support their transition to from the horrors or violence and oppression to a more peaceful, stable and democratic society that respects human dignity.

 

 Download and free DVD Complete unit Middle school through adult
CRS Prayers and Retreats

Catholic Relief Services has a page with prayer services for

  • Darfur
  • Solidarity with Africa
  • Iraq (Stepping Toward Peace) and a powerpoint meditation Praying Face to Face (with leader's guide)
  • Bringing Peace to the Holy Land
  • Natural Disaster Prayer Service
  • Prayer Service for Immigrants from Latin America
  • A Prayer Service responding to the Global HIV/AIDS crisis

There are also two retreats

  • Praying without borders
  • Solidarity with Africa
Download prayers and retreats high school and adult

Church World Service

 “Facts Have Faces.”  These are downloadable or can be ordered.

  •   Sudan: Hungry for Peace

·         Africa: In Bondage to Debt

 

 

 Download Background information Middle school through adult

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