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Holiday Card Exchange

 

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Project Plan

 
Possible Classroom Activities
(provided by iEARN)

 

 

Stage 1
- Preparation of cards -
August 19 - November 8
Students prepare and send cards to their seven partners. (Optional: Students may organize activities to raise funds to cover the cost of materials and postage.)
 
Stage 2
- Communication online with partners -
November 1 - December 31
Classes send information about their school, country, cultural activities, recipes and photos related to their celebrations in the December and January to each other online. Students may post messages to each other in the Holiday forum and ask questions about their new friends in the partner schools. Teachers may arrange video conference with partners.
 
Stage 3
- Completion of project -
December 15 - January 31
Classes receive cards from other countries and prepare display in home school.Classes prepare press release for local newspaper / television

 

About

 

Students build connections to those in other parts of the world with the Holiday Card Exchange.  During October, students and teachers will get connected with other classrooms in the world in order to send Holiday cards. Cards may include Christmas, Chinese New Year, Hanukkah, Kwanza, or Eid.  Students may create their own cards, or purchase cards and decorations to send to other places. In order to understand the corresponding school's culture, students may post to an on-line forum to ask questions about their partner's life. At the end of the project, students will receive cards from other parts of the world to display and enjoy!

Objectives

 

Common Core State Standards:

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.3
    Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened.

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.5
    With guidance and support from adults, respond to questions and suggestions from peers and add details to strengthen writing as needed.

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.6
    With guidance and support from adults, explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1
    Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.4Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.5Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
    CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.APrint many upper- and lowercase letters.
    CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.BUse frequently occurring nouns and verbs.
    CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.CForm regular plural nouns orally by adding /s/ or /es/ (e.g., dog, dogs; wish, wishes).
    CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.DUnderstand and use question words (interrogatives) (e.g., who, what, where, when, why, how).
    CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.EUse the most frequently occurring prepositions (e.g., to, from, in, out, on, off, for, of, by, with).
    CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.FProduce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities.
    CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
    CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2.ACapitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun I
    CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2.BRecognize and name end punctuation.
    CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2.CWrite a letter or letters for most consonant and short-vowel sounds (phonemes).
    CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2.DSpell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships.
 
Expected outcomes
(provided by iEARN)
Each classroom will receive an envelope with cards from a number of different countries and will be able to make an exhibition to show their school community. Students will learn about holiday traditions in other countries.

Project Monitoring

 
Benchmark:
Students will be graded on their ability to correctly address and write a letter using the proper format.
 
Evaluating the Experience:
Students will be asked what their favorite part of the project was. Their answers will be recorded on a tape, which will be sent to the partner class.
 
 

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Extra Info

 

 

 

 

Technology/Equipment

 
Initial Steps
  • Determine how many students will be participating
  • Purchase postage and cards 
  • Have students determine if they would like to create a card or use an existing card
 
Project Technology
  • Computer/device/iPad with internet capabilities
  • Microsoft Word for differentiated option to writing cards

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