When it comes to a global community that students can reach out to, http://www.epals.com/ is a great resource. This site connects classrooms in 200 countries, and is monitored to ensure safety. Google listed many sites for "elementary school global community" but epals was at the top of the list. Together as a class, we can choose a country, possibly one we will study, and choose a school to communicate with throughout the year. Students will email their e-pal and learn about the culture in a place different than their home. Students can talk about themselves for the first few emails and understand what is similar and what is different from others their age. There are many conversation starters, the examples below are from http://www.conversationstarters.com/101.htm
- Where did you grow up?
- Do you have any pets?
- Do you have any siblings?
- What did you do this past weekend?
- What are your plans for this weekend?
- What do you like to do in your spare time?
- What is the first thing you do when you wake up?
- What is the last thing you do before you go to sleep?
- What was the last thing you purchased?
- What is your favorite holiday?
- What is your favorite day of the week?
- If you could meet anyone in history, who would it be?
- What do you like to do to relax?
- Do you play any instruments?
Wow! You found some great websites! I love how Curriki allows the reader to select what grade/age and what subject, then *presto!* tons of resources appear. If I am in a hurry and only want to choose "top-rated" lesson plans, for example, I can easily find ones that sound good. I am definitely going to save this website for future use.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like epals is exactly what I wanted to find when I was looking for global communities for the elementary classroom. It didn't show up on any of the pages, so I apparently didn't enter the same criteria as you.
The conversation starters site is a wonderful way to get students writing, even if it is only in a journal and not to a pen pal/ e-pal. Some of the questions would probably need to be expanded a bit for a longer response "Do you play any instruments?" I can see students answering "yes" or "no," but not elaborating. "What is your favorite musical instrument and why?" might be a better question. But I guess, as a teacher, I could ask students to offer more information in their reply, telling them that, if they share more, their pen-pal/e-pal will likely respond with more information and they will get to know their new friend better.
It is amazing that we can connect with over 200 countries. I can remember when I was in school this was something that was not possible. It shows you haw far the tech and the connection ablities have come. These connections really help teh students get a full view of a country that they might be learning about. Your converstaion starters are awesome and I am so going to steal them. I also think that how you said that a classroom can pick a country to stdy together will also connect the students in your class so, not only are we connecting with another country but we are connecting with eachother.
ReplyDeleteI think using the internet to share resources with each teacher is a great way to find and share information. I also looked at epals and thought it was really cool. I like that you have the opportunity to choose the country to communicate with throughout the year. The conversation starters are useful as well.
ReplyDeleteThe epal site sounds amazing, and I would love to actually use it in my classroom. I remember pen pals was one of the best parts of elementary schools and its awesome that students can now talk to students in over 200 countries. I also loved how the site is monitored and measured for safety. This allows students the opportunity to grow and learn about cultures that they might never see or understand otherwise.
ReplyDeleteCurriki sounds like a great resource for teachers! It's always nice not to have to re-invent the wheel and collaborate with others about lesson plans and such. I also found the epal site and wrote about it. I thought it was amazing that now days we can quickly look a place we want to communicate with and do it! I remember back in the day it took us awhile to communicate with a class and write letters back and forth. Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteCurriki sounds like a great teachers resource! I think it is great that teachers can input their grade level, topic, type of resource and style of lesson. I look forward to learning more about it. I looked at Epals also and I think it is amazing that students can connect with 200 countries, my pen pals when I was in school were all from the U.S.
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