WEEK 5

SUBJECT: SOCIAL STUDIES

TERM: 1^ST TERM

CLASS: PRIMARY 6

TOPIC: Meaning of culture

BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES

By the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to:

• mention foreign cultures that are affecting our values and culture.
• discuss the advantages of foreign culture on our culture.
• discuss the disadvantages of foreign culture on our culture.

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS: A chart showing ancient and modern building.

REFERENCE MATERIALS

Scheme of work

All relevant materials     

6-Years Basic Education Curriculum

Online information

BUILDING BACKGROUND/CONNECTION TO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE:

Pupils are familiar with the topic in their previous classes.

CONTENT

MEANING OF CULTURE

Culture is the way of life of a group of people. This group of people may be a clan, an ethnic group or a country. The way of life of a people involves many things. Some of these things are the types of food they eat and how they prepare them, the way they marry and organize their family, and the way they produce what they need and how they use them.

Culture also includes the way people build their houses, the language they speak, their beliefs, their arts, their manner of dressing, the way they fight wars, the weapons they use, the way they organise themselves, and the way they behave generally. That is why culture is said to be the way of life of a group of people. This means that all the things we do and how we do them, and all the things we say and how we say them, are part of our culture. Culture does not involve only dresses and dances. It is everything we do in our lives.

Artworks

 Foreign cultural elements which affect traditional culture and values Foreign culture can be defined as the cultural practices or the way of life of foreign people such as Europeans, Americans, Asians and Arabs. For instance, many Nigerians have visited a lot of countries outside Africa. Many people from other countries have also visited us here in Nigeria. Nigeria was once ruled by a foreign country. When our people noticed these elements, they accepted and began to practise some of them.

The aspects of foreign culture that have affected our culture most are mainly from Europe, America and Arab countries. European and American cultures have affected people in all parts of Nigeria, but their effect is stronger in the southern part of the country. Arab culture, however, has affected people in the northern part of Nigeria more.

Some of the foreign cultural elements which affect our traditional values and culture are religious practices, education, mode of dressing, government and music. Our traditional religious practices have changed as a result of foreign influence. Today, many Nigerians are either Christians or Muslims. Our present system of government is also as a result of European and American influences. Our leaders are elected into offices, and traditional rulers no longer take active part in government.

The Europeans also brought a different type of education to us through the Christian religion. Before they came, our education took place mainly at home, in the neighborhood, on the farm, in the marketplace, and wherever we found ourselves. Now we have primary schools, secondary schools, colleges of education, polytechnics and universities where people receive education. Our dresses, the types of food we eat, and our music have also changed from what they used to be because of the influence from Europe and America. There are also external influences on how we care for the sick. In Nigeria, we used to rely solely on traditional doctors to treat the sick. Due to external influences, we now have many hospitals where the sick are treated by doctors who have been trained in the universities and medical schools. Some doctors and nurses even go abroad to study. This influence is from Europe and America.

Advantages and disadvantages of foreign culture  Non indigenous Nigerian culture

Advantages

• We have been able to learn other languages such as English, French or Chinese, which enable us to communicate and also to establish trade relationships with people from other parts of the world.
• We have learnt better ways of living. For instance when it rains, we make use of an umbrella to keep ourselves dry. We can also store food in the refrigerator so that it can last longer.
• We now build modern houses, which are in many ways better than the house our people used to live in.
• We attend schools in which we learn to do many things that make life easier for us. We also learn many good things about the world.
• We now have good health systems which have reduced the number of deaths in our society. Good hospitals can now diagnose and treat various illness appropriately, using modern equipment. We also have trained doctors who specialize in performing operations on people.

Disadvantages

• Some of our people have totally neglected their traditional culture and have adopted the European way of life completely. For instance, most people prefer to look and dress like the English.
• Our traditional religion is now viewed by some as bad and barbaric. 3 Many Nigerians cannot speak their own language very well but they can speak the English language fluently.
• In Nigeria, traditionally, we believe that each of us is our brother’s keeper, but foreign ideas have changed this. People now tend to keep to themselves and are no longer concerned about others.
• Many Nigerians prefer foreign names to their traditional names. 6 Some of us prefer imported products to our own locally manufactured products.

How to promote indigenous culture

There are many good things in our culture. We must promote these aspects of our culture so as to influence people in other countries.

The following are some of the ways in which we can promote our culture:

1 We must take part in our traditional activities, such as annual festivals. 2 We should promote our African traditional medical practices by patronizing  herbal doctors, and we should never laugh at or condemn those who patronize them.

• We must speak well of our culture to other people when we travel out of our country.
• We should develop interest in our works of art.
• We must speak our native language, which is a part of our culture.
• We must wear our traditional dresses as often as possible. Assessment & Evaluation:
• mention foreign cultures that are affecting our values and culture.
• discuss the advantages of foreign culture on our culture.
• discuss the disadvantages of foreign culture on our culture.

(WRAP-UP CONCLUSION)

Teacher goes over the topic once again to enhance better understanding          

Exercise

A Choose the best answers for the following questions:

1 The way of life of a group of people is known as their _______________.

A norm B value C culture D religion

• _______________ can be defined as the process or the way of life of people outside our community or society. A Indigenous custom B Foreign religion C

Foreign culture D Indigenous culture

• Which of these is an element of culture? A Language B Dressing C Marriage D All of the above
• Which of the following is not part of people’s culture? A Food B Arts C

Manner of fighting wars D none of the above

Aspects of foreign culture that have affected Nigerians are from all of these except _______________. A Europe B America C Australia D Arab countries