Beyond the Senses: Unveiling the Cultural Influence on Perception (Reading Comprehension)

Expand Your Students' Worldview! This captivating reading comprehension worksheet delves into the fascinating interplay between culture and perception. Explore how our background shapes how we see, taste, and even experience time!

Intriguing Exploration:

• Perception Defined: Establishes the foundation by explaining perception as the process of interpreting sensory information.
• Culture's Influence: Unveils how cultural factors like language, beliefs, and customs mold our perception.
• A Global Look at Color: Examines cultural variations in color terminology and perception, using the groundbreaking study by Berlin & Kay (1969) as an example.
• Taste Buds & Tradition: Explores the fascinating link between cultural practices and taste preferences.
• Time Travelers? Cultural Variations in Time Perception: Discusses how cultures view and value time differently, with concepts like "monochronic" and "polychronic" time.
• Primary Source Integration: Integrates a thought-provoking excerpt from Harold C. Kelly's "The Cultural Basis of Perception" to solidify the connection between culture and perception.

Deeper Learning & Beyond:

• Critical Thinking Prompts: Encourages students to analyze the impact of cultural differences on perception and explore the concept of cultural relativism.
• Sub Plan Savior: Well-structured with a variety of engaging questions, making it perfect for planned lessons or unexpected absences.
• Alignment with Common Core: Supports the development of critical reading and information processing skills emphasized in CCSS.

Learning Objectives:

• Define and explain the concept of perception and its role in our understanding of the world.
• Analyze the various cultural factors that influence perception, including language, beliefs, and social norms.
• Explore how cultural differences impact the perception of color, taste, and time.
• Develop critical thinking skills by examining the implications of cultural relativism for understanding and appreciating diverse perspectives.

Recommended Standards:

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.1 - Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.3 - Describe the connection between a series of events.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.1 - Draw an inference from the text and justify it with textual evidence.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.2 - Determine the central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development.

Courses:

• Psychology
• Anthropology
• Sociology
• Cultural Studies
• World History

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