During the months of September and October, our class had a huge project. We wanted to create a digital storybook that told the story of our school - Rolling Ridge Elementary. Each student volunteered for a job to accomplish this task. Some students were "deciders" and had the job of deciding what to include about our school. Other students were "photographers" and were able to use the iPad to take the needed pictures inside and outside around our school. Some students were page "designers" and we able to help design digital pages in SMART Notebook Software. Other students were "speakers" and were able to record their voices on select pages telling more about our school. After some editing, we were able to send our complete digital storybook in SMART Notebook Software to our global collaboration friends in York, PA and Kaiserslautern, Germany. The smiles on their faces showed a sense of accomplishment and just how proud they were for completing this project. We were thrilled to receive digital storybooks about their schools and had the opportunity to compare and contrast all three schools.
On September 22, 2016, my students met Mrs. Wise's Kindergarten class from York, PA. We planned to meet in the afternoon, so throughout much of the morning I could see and hear just how excited my students were to meet them. One of my students said, "I wish the afternoon would just get here so we can talk with them." Another student mentioned, "Hey, they are in the same time zone as us. That's why we can talk with them in the afternoon." After much anticipation, the time had come to connect both classes via Google Hangouts. My class met Mrs. Wise, her kindergarten students, and the school's principal. My students seemed more confident to talk with them; sharing their name and something interesting about themselves. It was great to hear both classes make connections with each other and start to build relationships. After learning about each other, we decided to play a game of "Monster Guess Who?" Students from each class took turns asking questions to try to figure out which monster each other had. Some of these questions included: "Does your monster have one eye?" "Does your monster have horns?" "Are there spikes on your monster?" After three questions, we had eliminated all the monsters except one. One of my students held up a picture of a monster and said "Is this your monster?" Mrs. Wise's class said "yes" simultaneously while cheers broke out in my classroom. Mrs. Wise's class asked one more question and then held up a picture of the monster they thought was in our classroom. My class said "yes" and you could hear all the excited cheers in the kindergarten classroom. We got to meet "Hubert" and they got to meet "Spike." We had to say goodbye for the day, however both classes were so excited to talk with each other again.
On September 15, 2016, my second grade class was able to connect with another second grade class from Kaiserslautern, Germany. Many of my students came to school an hour before school started to get the chance to see and talk with the students living in Germany. As we headed down to my classroom, you could feel the excitement in the air. Many students were talking to each other saying, "I wonder what we will learn about them?" "I can't wait to see them!" "Do they do the same things we do?" The students were filled with questions and eager to get to know their global friends who were six time zones away. We connected via Google Hangouts and were able to view and talk with Mrs. Langston's second grade class. Students were all smiles as they had time to introduce themselves saying their name and one interesting. Students immediately started making connections with each other. I could hear students from both classes saying things like: "Hey, I do gymnastics too!" "I also have a twin brother." After getting to know everyone, the most important thing on everyone's mind was: What monster did this classroom have? Each class took turns asking questions to gain essential information in figuring out each other's monster. Both classes were so excited to see each other's stuffed monster. We got to meet "Pinkel," a smiling, pink, furry monster. They got to meet "Spike," a green monster holding a bat and ball. See all the monsters on SMART's LAB Monster Quiz. Our time connecting went fast and students were quick to say that they want to talk with them again. Students debriefed by filling out a page in their Passport Books, writing down the date, city, country, and anything they learned about this class. They left a space for a passport sticker, which Mrs. Langston made and mailed to us. Students often ask, "Have the passport stickers arrived yet?"
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MonstersElementary Teachers creating a global connection for their learners. Archives
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