Culture - American Proverbs and Cultural Values -- Instructions for Teachers

For this document, there are 7 pages:

Page 1 = instructions for teachers

Page 2 = matching activity -- unknown for everyone

Pages 3, 4, 5 = Information Gap versions of the matching activity

Page 6 = Answer key for matching activity

Page 7 = Additional discussion points about proverbs

Ways of using these handouts

1.Give Page 2 to all students, and have them try to match the proverb with the values it represents. Then have small groups (or the whole class) discuss what they wrote, including differences of opinion about the correct answers.

2.Information Gap -- Pairs. Put students in pairs and give each person in the pairs a different information gap sheet. They can share the answers they already have, but have to discuss and work together on the items they do not have.

3.Information Gap -- Groups of three. Put students in groups of three and give each person in the groups a different information gap sheet. They can share the answers they already have, but have to discuss and work together on the items they do not have.

4.If you want to have further discussion about proverbs, use Page 7.

Culture - American Proverbs and Cultural Values

Match the proverb and the value it reflects.

Proverb / Answer / Values in represents
Waste not, want not / a. Good sportsmanship
You’ve made your bed, now you have to lie in it / b. Skepticism, being wary
Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise / c. Thriftiness, frugality
It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game / d. Privacy, and the value of personal property
There’s more than one way to skin a cat / e. Being clean and neat
All that glitters is not gold / f. Taking initiative
God helps those who help themselves / g. Inventiveness and not giving up
Cleanliness is next to godliness / h. Preparation for the future
Time is money / i. You can’t change the past
Don’t cry over spilt milk / j. Being satisfied with what you have
A man’s home is his castle / k. Concern for appearance
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush / l. Making the most of each moment
The squeaky wheel gets the grease / m. You can’t make your needs known if you don’t speak up
A stitch in time saves nine / n. Diligence and hard work
Clothes make the man / o. Responsibility for consequences of one’s choices
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again / p. Perseverance, never giving up

Culture - American Proverbs and Cultural Values -- Information Gap A

Match the proverb and the value it reflects.

Proverb / Answer / Values in represents
Waste not, want not / a. Good sportsmanship
You’ve made your bed, now you have to lie in it / o / b. Skepticism, being wary
Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise / c. Thriftiness, frugality
It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game / d. Privacy, and the value of personal property
There’s more than one way to skin a cat / e. Being clean and neat
All that glitters is not gold / f. Taking initiative
God helps those who help themselves / g. Inventiveness and not giving up
Cleanliness is next to godliness / e / h. Preparation for the future
Time is money / i. You can’t change the past
Don’t cry over spilt milk / j. Being satisfied with what you have
A man’s home is his castle / k. Concern for appearance
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush / j / l. Making the most of each moment
The squeaky wheel gets the grease / m. You can’t make your needs known if you don’t speak up
A stitch in time saves nine / n. Diligence and hard work
Clothes make the man / k / o. Responsibility for consequences of one’s choices
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again / p. Perseverance, never giving up

Culture - American Proverbs and Cultural Values-- Information Gap B

Match the proverb and the value it reflects.

Proverb / Answer / Values in represents
Waste not, want not / a. Good sportsmanship
You’ve made your bed, now you have to lie in it / b. Skepticism, being wary
Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise / n / c. Thriftiness, frugality
It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game / d. Privacy, and the value of personal property
There’s more than one way to skin a cat / g / e. Being clean and neat
All that glitters is not gold / f. Taking initiative
God helps those who help themselves / f / g. Inventiveness and not giving up
Cleanliness is next to godliness / h. Preparation for the future
Time is money / i. You can’t change the past
Don’t cry over spilt milk / j. Being satisfied with what you have
A man’s home is his castle / k. Concern for appearance
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush / l. Making the most of each moment
The squeaky wheel gets the grease / m / m. You can’t make your needs known if you don’t speak up
A stitch in time saves nine / n. Diligence and hard work
Clothes make the man / o. Responsibility for consequences of one’s choices
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again / p. Perseverance, never giving up

Culture - American Proverbs and Cultural Values-- Information Gap C

Match the proverb and the value it reflects.

Proverb / Answer / Values in represents
Waste not, want not / a. Good sportsmanship
You’ve made your bed, now you have to lie in it / b. Skepticism, being wary
Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise / c. Thriftiness, frugality
It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game / a / d. Privacy, and the value of personal property
There’s more than one way to skin a cat / e. Being clean and neat
All that glitters is not gold / b / f. Taking initiative
God helps those who help themselves / g. Inventiveness and not giving up
Cleanliness is next to godliness / h. Preparation for the future
Time is money / i. You can’t change the past
Don’t cry over spilt milk / j. Being satisfied with what you have
A man’s home is his castle / d / k. Concern for appearance
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush / l. Making the most of each moment
The squeaky wheel gets the grease / m. You can’t make your needs known if you don’t speak up
A stitch in time saves nine / n. Diligence and hard work
Clothes make the man / o. Responsibility for consequences of one’s choices
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again / p / p. Perseverance, never giving up

Culture - American Proverbs and Cultural Values: Answer key

Proverb / Answer / Values in represents
Waste not, want not / c / Thriftiness, frugality
You’ve made your bed, now you have to lie in it / o / Responsibility for consequences of one’s choices
Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise / n / Diligence and hard work
It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game / a / Good sportsmanship
There’s more than one way to skin a cat / g / Inventiveness and not giving up
All that glitters is not gold / b / Skepticism, being wary
God helps those who help themselves / f / Taking initiative
Cleanliness is next to godliness / e / Being clean and neat
Time is money / l / Making the most of each moment
Don’t cry over spilt milk / i / You can’t change the past
A man’s home is his castle / d / Privacy, and the value of personal property
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush / j / Being satisfied with what you have
The squeaky wheel gets the grease / m / You can’t make your needs known if you don’t speak up
A stitch in time saves nine / h / Preparation for the future
Clothes make the man / k / Concern for appearance
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again / p / Perseverance, never giving up

Some interesting comparisons of American proverbs:

  • He who hesitates is lostvs.Haste makes wastevs.Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today
  • It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the gamevs.Everyone loves a winner

Proverbs that have meanings that might not be clear:

  • A rolling stone gathers no moss

Does this mean that it’s wise to keep active, and keep moving? Or does it mean that the person who is always on the move tends to be lonely, and has no chance to “have roots”?

  • The squeaky wheel gets the grease

This can be interpreted in at least two ways: One is that, “If you are not willing to speak about your needs, don’t complain later”. The other is that, “The person with the big mouth always gets what he wants.”

It’s also possible to discuss similarities and differences in proverbs, and values, between American proverbs and Korean proverbs, or do a web-based search for proverbs from a variety of countries for even broader and deeper discussion.