There exists among many authors of student materials the tendency to stress the different, the strange or the exotic when describing other places and cultures. This tendency is often explained simply as a good means of capturing students' interest and attention. While this certainly is true in some instances, it may also makes global studies more difficult for younger students or those who already hold a very circumscribed world view. Instead, work from the known to the unknown – the familiar to the unfamiliar – the close to the far! While it is true that the effects of television, movies, recent children's literature and video games leave students as comfortable with Star Wars as with dinosaurs, the principles of learning endorse moving from similarities to differences, rather than the reverse. Students all tend to notice differences, they are more striking and thus more noticeable. But in having untrained students investigate/study/research any world area or problem, first "clear the ground" by noting similarities that exist between what's being studied and examples closer to their own lives. Once the similarities are cataloged, the process of noting differences is greatly facilitated.