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Discovering Tibet

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The Film – The Cup

The Cup is the story of a group of young Tibetan boys living as monks in a remote monastery at the foot of the Himalayas in Northern India. One of these boys, the tenacious and rebellious fourteen-year-old Orgyen is obsessed with the World Cup football (soccer) series and goes to great lengths to follow the games. He even resorts to sneaking out of the monastery at night and attempts to raise money to rent satellite television equipment to watch the World Cup in the monastery itself. The monastery’s disciplinarian must decide how to deal with the introduction of modern Western influences into their traditional monastic lifestyle.

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Authors: John Egbert, Mari Haas, Pat McCarthy, Eileen Mattingly, Deenah Dunkelman Mollin, Sarah Rainsberger and Dede Sinclair.

The Curriculum Guide

This interdisciplinary curriculum guide for educators based on the film ‘The Cup’ includes 11 lesson plans that cover math, science, language arts, social studies, media literacy, visual arts and specialty areas. It is available in both print and electronic versions.

Lesson Plans

  1. Social Studies | On the Roof of the World
  2. Social Studies | Introduction to Buddhism
  3. Media Literacy | Viewing The Cup
  4. Language Arts | Orygen Comes of Age
  5. Film-Specific Cross-Cultural Understanding | Daily Life in Tibet
  6. General Cross Cultural Understanding | Learning about Culture and Greetings
  7. Social Studies, Current Events | A World of Refugees
  8. Media Literacy | The Politics of Production
  9. Science | Energy Sources and Resources
  10. Mathematics | The Value of Money
  11. Visual Arts | The Art of the Mandala

Additional themes explored through the guide are:

  • Living in exile
  • The refugee experience
  • Globalization
  • History of China and Tibet
  • Rural life
  • Belief systems
  • Buddhism
  • Coming of age
  • Responsibility
  • Tibetan traditions and culture

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