Cultural literacy is no longer a luxury but a necessity in this expanding world. By finding out what makes cultures unique, the children learn to appreciate the commonalities of human needs and the creative and diverse methods people have developed for meeting those needs.

The Culture Camp Curriculum nurtures cultural literacy through:

• map and atlas reading

• story-telling and dramatizations

• reading and writing exercises

• the Culture Camp Passports, which give campers an opportunity to record anecdotes and facts

• recipe reading and practice following oral and written directions

• Culture Crates, which contain a variety of textiles, toys, costumes, instruments and accessories from each culture.

In addition, the daily routine enhances the learning experience:

circle time - introduction to day's itinerary, brief discussion of culture, history and geography of culture being visited, "show-and-tell" to share cultures of campers, team-building games to nurture group identity

reading/storytelling - this time features fables, legends, fairy tales, short stories by that culture's famous authors, illustrations/art of that culture, examples of types of drama, art and music of that culture; teacher reads to campers. campers read to each other, campers read silently, campers write stories, poems and letters/postcards home about the culture, campers do projects reading maps to follow itinerary and find places linked to stories

cuisine lesson - in ethnic cuisine, reading recipes, assembling and measuring ingredients, working together to create final product, reinforcing the making and sharing of food as an opportunity for positive social interaction

music and dance - conducting interactive listening activities to encourage development of active listening skills, learning ethnic dances and elements of the language of movement, playing games to music, making musical instruments with common materials and playing music together for listening and dancing