This experimental unit on death employs a cross-cultural comparison of death and burial customs to increase student understanding of the values and reasons behind events surrounding the end of the life cycle. Nine activities are presented in which students collect, label, analyze, and generalize about the relationship of death customs to the attitudes and needs of the living. The first activity involves completion of a checklist of fears. Next, a questionnaire is used to identify students' attitudes about death and to facilitate comparisons within the class. After a study of funeral notices from several countries, students make a chart of Indian, Chinese, and Mexican death customs based on readings. Generalizations are made, based on the data already collected. Verification is acquired by consulting other sources such as books, professors, and films. Students then prepare a checklist of American death customs based on their own knowledge and compare it to the generalizations about foreign customs. Gravestone rubbings and kamikaze letters are used to explore various attitudes toward death. In the final activity, students practice writing eulogies. (AV)