Global+Awareness


 * Lesson Plan and Narrative

Description ** This lesson involved giving students global awareness by using technology to communicate with other students around the world. In this lesson my group choose to use the ePals.com. Through this website, students were able to choose a country they might like to learn more about and find a "pen pal" that was close to their age and grade level. The assignment was to have students communicate with their ePal and find differences in language so that they could share their findings in a presentation to the class at the end of the project. This activity is meant to make students more aware and educated about different cultures around the world.

My group choose an International Pen Pal website because we thought it would be a great way for students in our classrooms to communicate with students around the world. The main focus was on language differences, but while sending messages to each other, we hoped that the students would also learn about cultural similarities and differences. So often, we might use the same vocabulary as other people around the world, but it may mean something completely different or be used differently on another continent. We wanted elementary children to start gaining an understanding and appreciation of not only their cultural, but many other cultures around the world.
 * Process **

I liked the idea of having elementary children communicate with children on the other side of the world. Something that would have taken months when I was in school is now so very easy and quick to do. I thought that the pen pal website was a great resource. It seemed simple to understand and use. This lesson is a great way to start introducing young children to different cultures. The students would not only be interested in this assignment because it is a technology based lesson, but they get to communicate and ask questions to students that are the same age. I think students would be eager to engage in a class discussion to share what they have learned and would be interested in listening to what others have learned. I also believe that this project could also motivate students to learn more about different countries and languages.
 * Reflection **