Sunday, June 15, 2014
My heart is still in Africa
As I was checking my blog roll this morning I noticed that the creator of the Global Read Aloud Project had posted a new blog post. As my colleagues know, I love to create connections for my students with other students around the world. So far they have been communicating with other second graders in a different state as well as in Brazil! Well, I am very excited for the Global Read Aloud Project for next year and using it as a means of opening my students' eyes to the world around them. Anyways, I digress. I saw this post on the Global Read Aloud Blog and was amazed at the powerful connections that are made through this project. Take a look here and if you have time, come back and let me know what you think :)
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When I first saw your blog title my reaction was "Aww! Me too!" I think about the people and the places I visited in Kenya every day and wish I could go back. I read "Why the Global Read Aloud Matters" and wow, that is truly inspiring! What a great connection for those students. I'm considering buying "I Know an Old Mzee That Swallowed a Fly..." and creating a lesson for my students. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteRachel,
ReplyDeleteI saw this blog post "Why the Global Read Aloud Matters" and immediately, started crying. I miss Africa so much and wish every day that I could go live there and teach there. The book "I know an Old Mzee That Swallowed a Fly..." just reminded me of how important it is to introduce other cultures and just the whole world to our students. It's amazing what the Global Read Aloud can do.
I also saw Pernille's post. I think I might have written about the Afrcian connection in the new blog post I did on GRA. We are supposed to do a Google Hangout with her this week. I will confirm that probably tomorrow, so I know what time works for her. I have been following GRA for 3 years. Last fall, several of the teachers taking 584 participated and blogged about their experiences. They also got more active on Twitter to make connections and used cross-class blogging, with a blogroll on their blogs for the students in their classes to keep up with blogging partner schools. Even if you don't use Twitter, blogging and Skype are other ways to connect, as well as keeping current with what Pernille posts. I am quite sure Peter Reynolds, one of the authors, will get actively involved. I met him and his brother at the Fable Vision studio, where they do their work with their crew, and they are all a fantastic and creative group, who reach out to young students regularly. Last year, Sharon Draper, did several Skypes with the classes reading her book. It is really especially exciting when the authors get involved, and as you noted, when students meet other students from around the world, it opens their eyes to other cultures as well as learning about geography and so much more. Love the GRA and what teachers do to make the experience authentic for students.
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