Connecting Countries and Cultures

Dear blog followers,

My reading class is beginning a section of stories that focus on different countries and cultures. I will be posting a little about the countries and cultures, especially questions that the students may have. This will be a part of building background knowledge for the students as well creating a motivating, authentic audience for our writings. 

What can you do as a follower? The students would love to have some comments that we can read in class. Anyone can comment. (Comments are moderated before posting.) What I am really looking for are people who can be the students personal connection to texts we are reading. For instance, we just started a book about Sweden and the Arctic. I would love to have a comment or two from someone from Sweden and/or the Arctic. Feel free to share this post if you know someone who could help connect our class.

Thanks for your time reading! Sorry the posts have been limited in the past few months, but I have been focusing on creating an eportfolio (electronic portfolio) that showcase myself and the classroom. This process has been time consuming so between lesson planning, grad school, and being a mom, the blog had to suffer a little. I hope to be back up and blogging regularly starting in May.

Melanie

Global Read Aloud 2012

Global Read Aloud 2012 ~ featuring Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Photo Credit ~ Wikispaces

I am very excited to have the class signed up to participate in our first Global Read Aloud. 

Now, I know what you are thinking, 

What is the Global Read Aloud?? 

The Global Read Aloud was founded a few years ago by Mrs. Ripp. It is an international literacy project in it’s third year. On her blog, Mrs. Ripp describes the reason behind this project: 

“I founded the project because I believe books are powerful. Books, by themselves, spellbind people, particularly children and allow them to travel to new places. Books become such a personal experience that to take a book and have children listen to it around the world at the same time, could open up the world. They would understand that the experience they were having with the book was perhaps the same experience as another child in another place was having. My students understand through this project that they are part of something bigger, that other kids were just like them even if they were so far apart. Even if the sun didn’t rise at the same time or the seasons were opposite, they were the same because they loved the same book.”

I was intrigued to be a part this project after a fellow teacher, Ms. Kolis (@Room5Friends), told me about the experience with her classroom last year. I am very excited to have the students participate in an event that will allow them to showcase the great things we do here at Evendale. I am also excited to get our classroom connected to students from across the globe. Last year, we connected with students from New Zealand and the student enjoyed learning about the culture of the students. The Global Read Aloud will provide us with yet another opportunity to learn from and about others.

Photo Credit ~ Coloring Pages for Kids

Here are the specifics about The Global Read Aloud. This year’s book selection for the younger elementary students is Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. The project officially begins October 1st and will run 4-7 weeks. An international group of teachers are currently in the planning process for the 4 weeks of lessons. I will modify the lessons and the timeline to fit the need and abilities of the class as well as organize additional resources as needed. During this project, we will use a variety of technology tools to engage in the book, collaborate with other classes, participate in discussions, and create projects revolving around the book. Some of the websites/technology tools that we will be using for this project will be the classroom blog, edmodo, twitter, and wikispaces.

Most of the project will take place at school; however, I will also be asking you to complete some activities at home. I will be posting information to the class blog about our activities as well as the Global Read Aloud in general. I encourage you review the blog posting and engage your child in discussions about the book. It would be a great idea to get a copy of the book to also read at home with your child. As I create modified curriculum materials for the book (such as visuals, flashcards), I can also provide you with copies for home as well. When checking out the classroom blog, you can easily find the Global Read Aloud postings by searching the tags “Global Read Aloud”, “#GLRead12”, or “Charlotte’s Web”.

Photo Credit ~ Coloring Pages for Kids

Thanks in advance for your support and cooperation as we take part in this amazing international literacy project! If you have any questions, please feel free to email or post a comment. If you are interested in volunteering to help with part of the project, let me know that as well. I’m sure we can find a way to help you get involved.


Are you a special education teacher participating in the #GLRead12? I would love to connect our classrooms. Leave a comment or find me on twitter (@teachwtechbrox).

~Melanie

Dear Mrs McKenzie and B4...

The One World Games banner from our field day

Dear Mrs McKenzie and B4,
This is Mrs. Broxterman. I am writing on behalf of the students. Sorry it has taken me a while to get back with you, but the end of our school year was May 30th. We were really busy finishing up our school year and were so excited to have you answer some of the questions. I appreciate it so much. The students enjoyed hearing about your favorite foods and we even did a little research about some of your answers. 


Here were few reactions from the students (and teachers):


Did you know that in New Zealand children usually start school on their 5th birthday? So children are starting school all through the year, not all at the same time. Do you think you would like that?
The students thought that sounded like a good idea. The teachers thought it would take getting used to. In the States, everyone starts school at the same time; however, the ages can vary. Students can usually start Kindergarten (their first year of school) at age 5 or 6, but depending on when a child's birthday is, a child can start at age 4.

The Australia/New Zealand flag from our World Games Field Day

The students were very interested that you live in a rural area as we live near a large city. We do not have many farms around the area and rarely do the students see cows unless they visit a farm as as part of field trip.


The students were excited to see they you liked the same foods. We didn't know what "Cheezels" were so we googled it and think they are very similar to "Cheetos" we have in Ohio.


The students also enjoyed learning about rugby, which is played in the USA but it isn't very well known. They also thoughtthat netball sounded a lot like basketball. We were all surprised with find out through our research that there was an International Federation of Netball Association.


Thank you again for sharing a little bit of your part of the world. I know that my students enjoyed it. The students are on vacation for the summer so they won't be able to answer any question. However, my daughter is 6 (almost 7) and will be in 1st grade next year. If you have any questions, she would be more than happy to answer them I'm sure.


Have a great school year! We will definitely chat more when we start back to school in August!


Thanks again!
Mrs. Broxterman and Room 220

Hi from Ohio, USA!

We are so excited to share our school with you! We are students from Evendale Elementary in Cincinnati, Ohio. We are learning about New Zealand as part of our “One World” track and field day, end of the school year event. Our school year starts in August and goes to June. This year we get out at the end of May. We have less than 2 weeks left in our school year. What months are you in school?

We are excited to share with you a few facts about the United States, our state (Ohio), and our school. We also are excited to be able to ask you a few questions about New Zealand see that your country is like. This is a map of the United States. 

We live in a corner of the state of Ohio, near Kentucky and Indiana, two other states. This is a map of Ohio. Do  you see Cincinnati? This is the city we live near; however, we do not actually live in the downtown part of the city. We live in a area called a “suburb” of Cincinnati. Our school is kind of small. We have a total of 250 students Kindergarten through 5th grade. That means the students range in age from 5 years old to 12 years old. 


Right now, the season in Ohio is Spring. The temperature is about 65 degrees and we are getting a lot of rain. What season is it in New Zealand?



We have been looking at maps and pictures of New Zealand. We found 2 great websites that we have used to see pictures and videos so that we can see how the United States is the same as New Zealand. Today, we looked at the similarities and differences of the flags of the two countries. We also made a few predictions on how many miles there are between Ohio and New Zealand. Can you guess how many miles or kilometers? We use miles to measure for distance. You can see a few of our predications in the picture below.

United States of America flag

The State of Ohio flag

This is our Venn Diagram comparing the New Zealand flag and the USA flag.

Here are a few things we wanted to let you know about us:
Jacob - My favorite foods are apples, Cheetos, yogurt, and cookies. Do you have these foods in New Zealand?
Kearia - My favorite foods are goldfish crackers, orange juice, Sprite, and strawberry chocolate chip ice cream. Do you like these foods too?
Kamaiya - I play soccer. Do you play soccer? What sport is your favorite sport?



Here are a few questions that we have about New Zealand:
Jacob - My favorite book is the Space Encyclopedia. What is your favorite book?
How did the New Zealand flag get the English flag on it?
Penguins are my favorite animals. Do you have penguins in New Zealand? If so, what kinds?

Kearia - What type of land do you have in New Zealand? Jungles? Do you have a zoo?
I like PBS Kids. I watch the Magic School Bus. What is your favorite TV show?
Kamaiya - We have lots of birds in Ohio. Our state bird is the cardinal (a red bird), but my favorite bird is a blue jay. What is your favorite bird?


And one last question from our other Kindergarten class.....
How did the kiwi bird get it's name?


Thank you so much for your time! We look forward to hearing from you and learning a little bit more about your school.


Thanks again!
Mrs. Broxterman's and Mrs. Broenner's classes