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Daily Culture in Mexico:
This was the first stop in an innovative, six-region World Tour Program developed by teachers Dorothy Myers and Judy McFadden of Van Dyne Elementary School. Consulting with Dawn Colavita, CEC Distance Learning Coordinator, these grade three teachers wrote and received a grant for six interactive video sessions throughout the school year. After studying each world region, the students met and interacted with a native of one country in that region. Angela Barerra, Outreach Coordinator of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies was the content provider, teaching the students about Mexican greetings, holidays, money, and a song. A new perspective was that Mexicans, as well as Canadians, Brazilians, Hondurans, etc., can all call themselves "Americans" since they all live in the "The Americas," or the Western Hemisphere.?

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Crawfordsville High School students explored The Magic of Latin American Literature - The 4th-year Spanish class of Crawfordsville High School teacher Marilyn Britton connected with IU via interactive video for six programs focusing on the work of three Latin American authors. Marilyn Britton developed this program series with the assistance of IU's Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and the support of a Teacher's Grant from Indiana's Corporation for Educational Communications.

The Vision Athena interactive network enabled her students to augment their in-depth study of these authors with interactive, focused discussions led by IU graduate students specializing in Latin American literature. In two September sessions, Monica Diaz, a Latin American studies graduate student from Mexico, led class discussions on selected works of writer Garcia Marquez. In two October sessions, Elias Lorenzo, a doctoral student in Spanish and Portugese literatures, worked with the students in analyzing the writing of Julio Cortazar. The final two programs focusing on Puerto Rican author Rosario Ferre, were held in two November sessions, and led by Adriana Tapanes of Puerto Rico, a doctoral student in Spanish. All six interactive programs were conducted entirely in Spanish.

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The Codices of Mexico: A Window to Pre-Columbian Culture in the Americas:
IU's Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies(CLACS) developed the Codices of Mexico program to introduce students, grades 5-12, to pre-Columbian culture in the Americas. This outreach project, sponsored by the Indiana Humanities Council, was designed and presented by CLACS faculty and graduated students.

Visiting professor Refugio Nava of Mexico presented the first of three Codices to the 7th grade Latin American study group at Lebanon Middle School. In this engaging, hands-on introduction to the Codices as cultural history, Refugio demonstrated how history can be told without words. After discussing the Codices and their origins in pre-Columbian Mexico, the Lebanon students had the opportunity to experience Codices-making and reading firsthand. Students were given ten minutes to make their own 3-page codex in order to communicate one of three topics: daily life in the U.S.; the national anthem; or a personal biography. Upon completion, another student 'read' the codex to Refugio and the class. By making and interpreting these mini-codices, students learned how Mexico's pre-Columbian civilizations used images to record and preserve their cultural history for future generations. Refugio's energetic and engaging presentation provided a stimulating introduction to the now world-famous books of ancient Mexico.

The second of three Codices of Mexico program to South Wayne Jr. High School featured presenter Aarton Dziubunskyj, an IU doctoral student in Spanish. Aaron began by introducing the students to the Nahuatl region of Central Mexico and telling students the origin myth if the Aztec people. He then used a colorful facsimile of the codex to demonstrate how pictographic writing was used to record and preserve Aztec history.

Graduate student Galen Brokaw presented the third of three Codices of Mexico program to teacher Gary Morton's 6th grade social studies class at Tell City Jr. High. Galen used a hands-on format similar to Professor Nava's, having the Tell City students form Codices-making and interpreting teams.

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Honors Program in Foreign Languages for High School Students:
Three past participants in Indiana University's Honors Program in Foreign Languages for High School Students shared their study abroad experiences with foreign language students at Arlington High School in Indianapolis. The program gave Arlington H.S. students the opportunity to learn more about the IU study abroad learning experience through talking with three recent participants in the Spanish and French programs. The student presenters were: a Bloomington North senior, who studied in France last summer; a Bloomington South senior, who was the IU program' first participant to study in Spain; and an IU freshman, who studied in Mexico. Each year, IU selects about 30 high school juniors to participate in the Honors Foreign Language study abroad program. These students participate in an intensive seven-week summer study abroad program in Mexico, Spain, France, or Germany.

Mexico's Days of the Dead:
The presenters for the program were Mike Sauer, an IU graduate student and Spanish instructor who had lived in Mexico for two years, Monica Diaz, an IU graduate student from Mexico, and Suzanne Gott, whose Master's degree studies had focused on Days of the Dead in Mexican and Mexican-American communities. Through the process of showing photos over the document camera, Mike and Monica drew students' attention to important elements used in constructing Days of the Dead altars. Objects used for Days of the Dead altars--sugar candy skulls, tissue paper skeleton cutouts, and a pottery bowl for a special Days of the Dead food offering--were shown using the document camera. Student questions expanded the discussion to other Mexican and Spanish celebrations, and Mike was able to talk about his experiences in Spain viewing Semana Santa processions at Easter. The program was broadcast to three high school Spanish classes(Jennifer Neal's first year Spanish class at Decatur High School in Indianapolis, Dorian Pinner's Spanish class at Northwest High School and Sandy Fields' Spanish classes at Arlington High School.) and one middle school class(Cherilyn Anderson's eighth grade Spanish Class at Our Lady of Greenwood.)

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