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Outside My Classroom Windows

 

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Project Plan

 

ePals Lesson Plan:
1. Group students in small groups (3-4 students). Have them look out the window and create a list of what they see.
2. Discuss what is unique about their view and what they think might be different about their view from other schools in different countries or communities.
3. Hold class discussion about how students might show the view outside their windows: photo, pencil drawing, watercolor, digital art, collage. Students may want to take digital photos of the scene for reference while they work on their art.
4. Each group creates the art of the view from the classroom window.
5. Students write a paragraph, describing the view from the classroom window and what is significant about this view. Writing might be narrative, descriptive, or take the form of poetry.
6. Determine how you will share your art and writing with your ePals. Some ideas include:
  • a blog, with one blog entry for each picture and student paragraph. ePals can comment on the blog entries,
  • a PPT presentation of all student pictures and paragraphs, which can be sent to ePals and uploaded to ePals Media Gallery,
  • a Skype conversation, where students share their images on the screen and in oral presentations.

About

 

Outside My Classroom Windows is a project that connects students across the world by showing their lives and surroundings.  The goal of the project is for students to take and share photos of the environment around them in order to provide perspective and culture to those in other parts of the world.  Students will determine similarities and differences in schools around the world.  

 

Objectives

(provided by ePals)

 

 

Project Objectives:
1. Students will observe, describe, and share
2. Students will discuss the views that other students have and compare/contrast the outside views in different countries
3. Students will develop collaborative relationships with children from other cultures
                       
 
National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies
10: Civic Ideals and Practices
 
Common Core State ELA Standards
Writing Standards
W-2 Write informative/ explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly
W-4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are clear to task, purpose, and audience
W-5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing
W-6 With guidance and support from adults use technology to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others. (digital presentations)
W-8 Recall relevant information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources, take notes, and organize information and evidence into categories.

 

Project Monitoring

 

Benchmarks:
Develop resources for students to demonstrate proper use of the camera.
Develop resources for students to demonstrate use of Wixie in order to have students create/draw appropriate images of the world around them.
 
Assessing the Project:
Students will be evaluated during their participation in lessons and activities. Their communication skills and new vocabulary will be monitored.
 
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

 

Project Leader Info

 
Project Leader: Brooke Cates 
Country: United States 
Subjects: Art/Music, Social Studies, Culture
Number of Students: 21-30 
Age Range: 1-7 
Collaboration: Email Exchange, Skype / Video Chat 
Languages: English 
About my classroom:
I teach second grade (7-8 year olds) in Texas. Our school is doing a international out-reach for pen pals and we are into learning about anywhere outside of the US. We have a lot of flexibility and lots of technology to share and learn with. I'd love for my kiddos to see another class with students the same age and be able to see video and/or live chat about our differences and similarities etc. 
 
Project Leader Info
Project Leader: Rawya Shatila 
School: Makassed College for Girls
Region: Lebanon, Middle East
Language(s): English
Number of Students: 11-20
Age Ranges 14-16
Collaboration: Email Exchange
About my classroom:
Group of students in grade 10 at Makassed College for Girls in Beirut, Lebanon are looking for ePals from English-speaking countries. Their first language is Arabic, but they study English as a foreign language. They are interested in exchanging emails and knowing about the lives of people in other countries. Tenth Graders are so excited to learn more about using ePals in their classroom and work on collaborative projects!

 

 

 

Technology/Equipment

 
Initial Steps
  • Read student book about life outside the window, "Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature" by Nicola Davies
  • Have students draw pictures of the world around them
  • Teach mini lesson on how to use camera/iPad to capture pictures of the world around them
  • Have students practice taking pictures during recess in order to become familiar with the camera and how it works
 
Project Technology
  • Camera(s)
  • Computer/Device/iPad with internet capabilities
  • Scanner if students print out pictures
  • Book making site - shutterfly
  • Wixie to have students draw pictures

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