Harriet J. Bauman
The sixth and final objective of this unit is for the students to recognize the role of culture of the countries in which the stories take place, in the stories. Is it part of the story? Is it important to the understanding of the crime or mystery? Does the author teach the reader about specific cultural matters, or does he/she expect the reader to have this knowledge already? The students can learn the answers to these questions through careful questioning by the teacher. They should learn about these countries through reading the stories as well. The students could visually represent the milieu in which the story takes place, or specific customs that they find appealing.
In order to be sure that the students learn the facets of culture presented in any of the stories used in this unit, the teacher must make them an integral part of what is being studied. If, for example, the story takes place in a foreign country, it should be located on a map, and pictures or slides should be shown to the students. They could make an oral presentation of the area in which the story takes place.
If the main part of the mystery concerns a musical composition by a known composer, some class time could be devoted to listening to the music and discussing its significance to the story. The same is true for a work of art. The students should be able to visualize the action of the story with these aids. If there are historical events wrapped up in the mystery, they should be discussed so that the students understand the background of the story.
Holidays and customs should be explained or researched and their significance discussed or presented in a lively or interesting manner. The students could do oral presentations or act out skits based on them.