This is only ONE way of participating in the project. The possibilities are limited only by your (and your students') imaginations!
Kindergarten Around the World
Premise and general outline:
- Each CFIS class will create a fictional student who is a member of their partner class.
- Using a variety of media, students will create a story (or series of stories) featuring this character going through daily life in the country and school of their partner class.
- Using Twitter to ask and answer questions, CFIS classes will gather information about their partner class and country, to create stories that accurately reflect life in that country.
The project will be directed by students’ ideas and interests, so activities may vary from one partnership to another. Possible activities:
- Virtual tours of classrooms using digital video.
- Skype conversations between classrooms.
- Student journals regarding the experiences of their fictional character.
- Completing a special craft that is also being done by their partner class.
- Learning and playing a game that is popular in their partner class.
- Making and eating a snack that is typical in their partner country.
- Creating a collective storybook (or multiple books) about the adventures of their character.
- Learning a song or poem that is part of their partner class’s daily routines.
- Graphing daily temperature and weather in Calgary and partner country.
- Exploring websites related to partner schools and countries.
Project Timeline
The
intention of the timeline is to provide a suggested direction and
structure to the project; however, we stress the importance of following
the students’ lead and taking advantage of teachable moments as they
arrive. The specific topics listed are suggestions only, and we welcome
the input of our partner teachers.
Week 1: Feb 22 – 25 (No school for CFIS students on Mon Feb 21)
- Introduce project to students
- Introduce twitter routine to classes
- With students, create fictional visitor to partner class.
- Use twitter to research characteristics of typical student in that class:
- Uniforms / typical clothing
- Ethnicity?
- Typical name?
- Age?
- Favourite games, toys
- Housing/family structure
Following twitter research questions, CFIS students will record what they learned in journals (drawings and text, in French).
- Teachers to communicate w/partners, re:
- Craft projects
- Snacks
- Other classroom traditions to try
- Upcoming school breaks or vacations
- CFIS classes will begin daily graph of temperature in Calgary and partner location
Week 2: Feb 28 – March 4
- Communication via twitter to gather information about partner’s classroom and school:
- Size, furnishings, materials
- Program and special classes
- Recess and playtimes
- Ages of students
- Student birthdays
- Numbers of boys vs girls
- Class sizes
- Classroom routines
- Typical school day
- School colours or logo
- Field trips
- Information will be recorded in student journals, in the voice of fictional student.
Week 3: March 7 – 11
- Communication via twitter to gather information about partner’s city and country
- Flag
- Map
- Climate
- Landscape
- Language
- Music/Art/Dance
- Special festivals
- Traditional dress
- Information recorded in student journals
Week 4: March 14 – 18
- Use student work to assemble digital presentation of “The Adventures of Fictional Student in Partner Country”
- Communication via Twitter to gather any missing information.
March 21: Open House at CFIS to share work with parents and other students:
- Digital presentation projected on Smartboards
- Crafts, drawings, etc. on display
- Student journals on display
Sample Final Project:
That was neat. I want to teach at a school where the children have bare feet! That's how I roll too!
ReplyDelete