Global Issues in Language Education: Issue 27. Jun. 1997. (p. 17)
In the high school textbook I teach (Unicorn), there is a lesson
about the rare "one cent magenta" stamp found by a small boy in 1873 and
sold in 1980 for $850,000. To add a global dimension to the lesson, I
designed a supplementary activity on world stamps and global issues, using
an excellent Japanese book about world stamps entitled "Kitte wa kataru"
(Stamps Talk!) that I managed to find at the local library.
After reading the textbook story, I asked students questions such
as "Do you like stamps?", "Do you have any stamps at home?", "What kind of
pictures do stamps show?" I then gave out two handouts (the stamps below
and a world map showing the names of all the countries) and assigned
students the following two tasks:
WORLD STAMP ACTIVITY
Although students had some difficulty locating countries on the
map, they could all arrange the stamps according to the three themes: saving
energy, endangered animals, war and peace. As a follow-up, students can
draw a stamp of their own design that deals with a global issue. There are
even stamp design contests held by newspapers and the Ministry of Posts
that students can submit their designs to. The teacher can also encourage
students to bring to class used stamps, telephone cards and postcards to
raise funds for charity.
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