The Danger of a Single Story Lesson

Every year I work with a teacher in another part of the world so that our students can become pen pals and learn about each other. Last year, I introduced my students to where their new pen pals live in India. We began to discuss what they know about India, and talk about some of the questions they have about where their new friends live. Right off, students started discussing about how poor people in India are and how the kids do not have adequate clothing, shoes, housing, or schools. When I began asking them why they know people in India live like that, they said because we have seen it on the news and in movies. Because most of my students had misconceptions about India, I showed them the film, "The Danger of a Single Story." Afterwards, we discussed what they now thought about their new friends in India and how they thought they may live. The class then discussed what ideas they felt that their new friends may have about them because they live here in the United States. My students were very excited to begin writing letters to their new friends! This was a major eye opener for me as a teacher. I have often thought how many have these misconceptions about different places and people around the world.

Defining Global Education

 Global Education enables students to help shape the future of this world through science, humanities, and social sciences. The UN has outlined 17 sustainable development goals that outline the important topics our world is facing today. By educating students to understand how important these topics are, and peeking their interest in these topics, we can produce a new generation of people who will work to make this world better for everyone. 

Using Digital Tools in Lessons

When participating in the Fulbright Global Education class, I had an opportunity to work with a teacher in Indiana. We wanted students to see the differences between their town and ours. Using Google Earth, the students made assumptions about student's lives in their town. They also came up with a list of questions to ask their peers. Using FlipGrid, my students were able to video their questions to their peers in Indiana. The teacher I worked with, and myself, were able to monitor the videos before hand and make sure that everyone was on their best behavior! Students in Indiana were then able to respond to their peers and answer questions, as well as ask their own questions. This was a fun activity that both classes seemed to really enjoy doing. The students really enjoyed seeing and communicating with each other. I am hoping to extend this activity to include students in Finland as well. 

Travel Update

 FINLAND here we come! I am excited to announce that part of my Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms cohort will be traveling to Finland in November. It is an honor to be included among this incredible group of educators. 

 

What is Global Competence?

Global Competence is a combination of knowledge, values, attitude, and skills. As an educator, I feel that it is my responsibility to help students develop cultural awareness, learn about global issues, and help them develop global skills to prepare for the work place. As school begins, I am thinking about how I can get my students to not just be the future of this world, but how can I get them to be change makers of this world? One of the big points that I walked away with from Fulbright was that our students do not have to wait to become future leaders to make a difference. They can become the change makers of the world today! We just need to teach them how. We need to get them to ask the right questions and come up with ideas. Our students are BRILLIANT! Do they make brilliant choices all of the time? Ummmm, no! HA HA! BUT they are bright and have amazing ideas. I love this resource from Asia Society.

Inter-School Lesson using Project Zero

How many of you struggle with getting your students to think deeper? The Harvard Graduate School of Education has an amazing website that offers a "toolbox" of Thinking Routines. Be sure to check it out!

My inter-school lesson partner and I incorporated Global Perspectives into the Classroom: We used I See, I Think, I Wonder to first explore the countries we are studying in class. They started by making observations using street view on Google Maps. The students then thought about where things were and why they were at each location. 

National Geographic Sources

 National Geographic is an AMAZING resource for your classroom. They have curriculum for teachers as well as fun activities for the kids. One of the resources that Fulbright used, and I LOVE, is the Teaching Across Perspectives. You can use this resource to look at an issue from different perspectives. For example, refugees. Students look at the spatial (where), cultural, political, economic, historical, ecological, and geological perspectives. What kind of impact  do displaced individuals have on a local, regional, and global scale? How are they all connected? There are so many things a teacher could with this lesson. I have attached the link below in the Study & Learn section of my page. Check it out!