Organization

The City Kaleidoscope offers a total of 10 Topics per Cultural Capital.

The following topics are covered for each Cultural Capital:

    * Multi-Ethnic Population Structure,

    * City Development,

    * Education,

    * Economy,

    * History of Everyday Life.

Two topics are each dealt with by two Cultural Capitals:

    * Population and Social Structures (Essen, Vilnius),

    * Culture (Krakow, Vilnius).

An additional 10 topics are each covered for only one Cultural Capital:

    * Essen: Memory Culture, Media, Infrastructure, Nature and Technology;

    * Krakow: Capital and Royal Court, Occupation, The Policy of the Communist Regime, Art;

    * Vilnius: Law, Reconstruction, Military History.

The topics are divided in up to five sub-topics.

Usage

There are two different alternatives for using the teaching materials:

On the one hand, you could choose to access the materials through the menu option “Topics.”

A topic kaleidoscope will then be presented with which you can proceed in the following way:

   1. Choose one of the historical, geographical or social science topics.

   2. Decide on one of the three Cultural Capitals.

   3. Choose one of the sub-topics.

On the other hand, you could choose the menu option “City/Time.” Here, the kaleidoscope shows you the individual Cultural Capitals during a period of time, the “dark hours” or “golden times.” From here you can proceed in the following way:

   1. Choose an epoch of one of the Cultural Capitals.

   2. Decide on a topic.

Each sub-topic of a teaching unit is divided into three sections:

    * Infotext,

    * Quellenblatt/Source Sheet,

    * Aufgabenblatt/Worksheet.

Some topics also offer links. These are mostly recommendations for further project work. The Lithuanian project group works predominantly with this type of source material.

Additionally, every unit offers a didactic commentary and a bibliography.

Language

All of the teaching materials are offered in the respective national language of the country and in English. There are currently a few exceptions, as the translation work is not yet completely finished.

Several foreign language sources, whose content will be partially condensed and presented in English, are not yet fully translated.

Technology

The following technical notes may be of use when using the website:

    * To enlarge the images: Click on the image or click “Strg and +”;

    * The texts and sources related to the tasks on the Worksheets are linked within the respective tasks;

    * All pdf data are easily printable for the lesson.

Methods

The Method Kaleidoscope offers short explanations about the application of the methods used in the instructional units (see the “Operators” in the assignments). 

Usage Rights

In order to present the authentic materials on this website, the copyrights had to be acquired. In many cases the project group was successful in doing so quickly. A few usage rights have not yet been issued – and thus these materials cannot currently be published. We expect permission shortly, however.