Exploring People and Cultures: Authentic Ethnographic Research in the Classroom provides teachers with tools and activities for conducting a classroom study of ethnic groups and cultures. Through the more than 30 ready-to-use, differentiated lessons, teachers will help students learn how to recognize the elements of culture; think critically; apply real-world research techniques in field experiences; identify behavioral patterns in modern-day cultures; and create, plan, and share their products in a student-led ethnography fair.

Grades 5-8

Mary Ellen Sweeney, Ph.D., experienced cultural diversity early in life as a native of Miami, FL. She has taught graduate-level ethnographic research, and this book shares that passion with kids. As an educational reformer, she was a founding member and director of an early Colorado charter school. Currently, she is a Denver Gifted and Talented Itinerant Specialist. In her precious free time, she golfs, kayaks, walks, reads, writes, and travels with relatives and friends.

Brooke Walker, Ph.D., has been in the field of gifted education for the last 20 years at both the school and district levels. She has a master’s degree in gifted and talented education and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction. She is presently a Gifted and Talented Specialist for Denver Public Schools in Denver, CO. In her free time, she hikes, reads, plays with her grandchildren, and travels with her husband, George, and her dog, Alice.