Using Personal Experiences when Teaching Cultural Geography

   Students cultural identities are defined by their life experiences. In city schools there is more likely to be a diverse range of students from a variety of different backgrounds.
   
   The cultural identities of students are constructed from their experiences with the twelve attributes of culture identified by Cushner, McCelland and Safford (2000). These include; 

• Ethnicity / Nationality
• Social class
• Sex / Gender
• Health
• Age
• Geographic region
• Sexuality
• Religion
• Social status
• Language
• Ability / Disability
• Race

   It is possible to use some of these attributes to develop knowledge of cultural geography in the classroom. Pupils can discuss the religion they follow, the language they speak and the geographic region from where they or their families are from. Following on from this they can talk about the food they eat, what clothes they wear and their home life. They can then learn WHY different groups of people, from all over the world have different lifestyles. 

   By drawing on their own experiences pupils may be able to grasp concepts much easier.