Global Awareness Lesson

The purpose of the global awareness lesson I created is to expose a sixth-grade class of students to other ways of being.  I sought to accomplish this by setting up each student with a pen pal from a different country.  Here is a brief overview of the activity, of what makes it global and of how I would incorporate the activity into my classroom.

Overview of the activity

• Each student will initiate an ongoing dialogue (via ePals) with a student from another country.  Each student will use technology in the classroom to research the country of his/her assigned ePal.  A K-W-L chart will be used to assess what students know about their assigned country.  Students will think about what is meant by the term "culture" and will use their related research to compose thoughtful correspondence with their ePals, all of which is aimed at better understanding the world of the person they are communicating with.  Students will communicate with their ePals for four weeks.  At the end of the four weeks, they will write a blog (using Kidblog) or put together a presentation (using PowerPoint or Prezi).  Students will present this final project to their classmates.

What makes the activity global

• This activity is global because the students will interact with peers from around the world.  Using ePals, the students can opt to correspond with students from over 200 countries.

How I would incorporate the activity into my classroom

• I would use this activity to address 21st century skills, reading and writing skills, oral presentation and delivery skills, research skills and cultural understanding.  I would incorporate the various aspects of this activity into the various subjects taught (i.e., Language Arts, Geography, Library/Computer Lab, etc.).

In closing, I think that learning about another country/culture by talking with someone who lives there is far more effective than simply reading about it in a textbook.  My hope is that this activity will get students interested in the larger world and that they will have an appreciation for diversity.