Students acquire basic information about the country

Before students begin their CultureQuest projects, they need to acquire some basic information about the country they will be studying. In many cases such information may be in textbooks provided to students. The teacher may teach about the country the way the teacher ordinarily teaches about the country and then skip to Step 4 and begin to introduce the study of culture.

Alternatively, teachers may choose to supplement textbook information with web-based resources on such topics as geography, climate, demographics, resources, languages, an overview of the country's history, and whatever else is ordinarily taught. Perhaps with the exception of history, these factors affect culture but are not themselves what we typically consider culture. This information will help provide some context for the students' understanding of culture. One way to obtain this "profile" information is to divide the areas up and have groups of students looking at, and taking notes on, web sites and books that have this information. Students might also consult their online contact persons (students in the country, knowledgeable adult, and experts). A particularly good question to ask experts might be how the history, climate, geography, etc., of this country has impacted upon the culture of the country. This information would be shared, written up and it would be up to the teacher whether a "country profile" would or would not be incorporated into the final CultureQuest web site. Even if not included in the final web site, students would better understand aspects of culture by knowing and referring to these factors that affect culture.

Teachers discuss the research process with students and introduce "Hotlists".
See The CultureQuest Teachers' Guide for links to the application and tutorial.