Cultural Studies in the elementary classroom can take as their source the Great Lessons. These lessons are broadly engaging, impressionistic stories formed around grand and universal themes. Their panoramic retelling along with the accompanying materials, serve as a springboard for the student's studies of life and the universe. They provide the backdrop against which the vivid connections between science, culture and all living things are made. Awareness of the interrelatedness between all living things is what Montessori called “Cosmic Education.” Children see themselves as part of a whole. They become aware of their relationships with other people and things, which brings them to an understanding of the responsibility they have to others.