OneWorld Classrooms -- Bulletin
Best Practices: Making Cross-cultural Classroom Connections
Second graders in McLean, VA with display of artwork by students from Mali, Africa. 

Second graders in McLean, VA pose in front of artwork they received from their partner class in Mali, Africa.

 
 
"NOTABLE QUOTE"
"Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future." John F. Kennedy - Former President of the United States
 
More Notable Quotes about global education and the role of the arts and technology rotate in the bottom section of each
OneWorld Classrooms' informational Web site page.

 

 

FREE CLASSROOMS CONNECTIONS OPPORTUNITY
 
While registration for our Classrooms Connections program has officially closed for this school year, we are looking for one 4th or 5th grade US or Canadian class and three 4th or 5th grade classes in China to complete letter exchanges with partner classes in Bhaktapur, Nepal. The students in Nepal have already written their letters and are anxious to find partners. Interested teachers may send an Email to teachers@oneworld
classroms.org
.
 

NEW ONLINE CONTENT ALERT
 
We have recently posted seven new sections to our free online multimedia resource, Cultural Profiles of Historic and Modern China: Chengdu Today - Food; Chengdu Today - Transportation; Chengdu in the Tang - Poetry; Tibet Today - Human-Animal Relationships; Tibet Today - Clothing; Tibet Today - Religion: Symbols; and Historic Tibet - Cultural Landscape. We will be posting nine more sections focusing on Tibet and Chengdu in March, April and May, 2008. The new sections are made possible by a grant from the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation.
 
We have also posted a new English module on our Student to Student Language Lab, featuring 11th graders from the IBO Chinese class at Albany High School in Albany, NY. We will be posting new English, Spanish and Chinese modules in the coming weeks and months.
 
Please note: You will need to enter your username and password to access this content (see below).

 
QUICK LINKS
 
FREE Travel & Learn Online Content  (username required; see below)  
 
Electronic Cultural Exchange Library (username required; see below) 
 
Student to Student Language Lab (username required; see below) 
 
Register Now!
 
Classroom Connections(Registration for 2007/8 is now closed for this program; however, you may review this information to plan for 2008/9.)
 
 

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OUR NEXT BULLETIN
 
Our next bulletin will inform you about new PowerPoints submitted by participating classes in Latin America, Asian and North America.
 
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Dear ,
 

Connection. It makes us human, gives us culture and allows us to learn. As teachers, we strive to provide opportunities for students to make connections with the world around them.
 
This Best Practices bulletin focuses on partnerships established between US and African elementary schools through OWC's Classroom Connections program. It also highlights key strategies that the participating teachers used to create powerful, curriculum-reinforcing learning experiences for their students.
 
Third grade student in Kabe, Mali displays artwork she created for exchange with partner class in Albany, NY.
A third grade student in Kabe, Mali displays artwork she created for an exchange with a partner class in Albany, NY.
 
Please see the left-hand column for information about a FREE Classroom Connections exchange opportunity with a partner school in Nepal -- plus an announcement about recent updates to our FREE Cultural Profiles of Historic and Modern China and Student to Student Language Lab.
 
Also, now you can view past OWC E-newsletters and bulletins on our new Newsletter Archive Page.
 
In our next bulletin, we will tell you about new PowerPoints submitted by participating classes in Latin America, Asia and North America and posted on our Electronic Cultural Exchange Library.
 
Happy classroom trails!
 
The OneWorld Classrooms Team
Making Powerful Learning Connections in the Classroom
 
Display of artwork by students from Mali at school in Albany, NY.
 
A display of artwork by students from Mali at a school in Albany, NY.
 
 
At the Kabe, Kola and Fangasso Elementary Schools in the West African nation of Mali, the students learn in French, practice Islam, live a farming lifestyle and normally have very little contact with people outside their village region. Yet, through OneWorld Classrooms art exchanges, they found common ground and built friendship with their peers at the Montessori Magnet School in Albany, NY and the Churchill Road School in McLean, Virginia.
 
After the Montessori Magnet School's Cultural Fair, which highlighted the exchange and a schoolwide exploration of African culture, one inspired parent wrote, "I am so proud to know (that our) children have a dedicated, thoughtful and creative school community that fills their days with enriched learning and engagement of our diverse world!"

Principal and teachers at the Montessori Magnet School in Albany, NY.

Principal and teachers at the Montessori Magnet School in Albany, NY.

 
The key to this kind of success: teachers!  Here are some of the best practices the participating teachers used to turn their partnerships into meaningful and educational experiences for their students. 
 
1. Connect it to the curriculum
. Laura Mack's second graders at Churchill Road complete a yearly unit on Mali. Interacting with real children who live in Mali makes the unit come alive. Says Laura,
"This has been a truly amazing experience for us!" At Montessori Magnet, in conjunction with their art exchange, Pre-K through 4th grade classes explored African storytelling, geography, language, dance, jewelry making and much more.

Display of African-style jewelry made by students at the Montessori Magnet School.

A display of African-style jewelry made by students at the Montessori Magnet School.

2. Share culture through art and photos. Students on both ends of the exchanges created artwork that depicted various aspects of their cultures. The teachers encouraged students to draw a variety of subjects to maximize the amount of cultural information shared -- and took photos that showed their students in some real-life scenes depicted in the artwork.

Artwork by 3rd grade student at the Kabe Elementary School in Kabe, Mali.

Artwork created by a 3rd grade student at the Kabe Elementary School, Mali.

3. Attach photos of student artists. Attaching the smiling faces of the student artists to the artwork they create makes the exchange more personal and meaningful. Peace Corps Volunteer Jamyel Jenifer (Fangasso) had students hold signs with their names and numbers indicating their artwork; while PCV Laura Schairbaum (Kabe) took photos of students holding their artwork.

Second grade students at school in Mali.

Second grade students at the school in Kola, Mali.

4. Make a display and involve your whole school community. Displays are a great way to extend the cultural sharing beyond the classroom to the whole school community -- and remind students of the friendship and cross-cultural connection they have made. After their exchanges, Laura M. (Churchill Road) and Jamyel (Fangasso) shared photos of their displays by Email -- a great way for students to feel pride in their work and see that it is making an educational impact in another part of the world!

Artwork created by students in Virginia hangs from the rafters at a school in Mali.

Artwork created by students in Virginia hangs from the rafters at the school in Kola, Mali.

Make a difference! Realizing that her partner school was learning about Africa, Laura S. (Kabe) included a letter with her package, explaining the cultural significance of the artwork and photos. When teachers and parents at Montessori saw the display, they were inspired to contribute, not only more student art projects, but a whole computer box full of school and art supplies - much needed resources at Laura's school.

 

On behalf of all five school communities, many kudos and thanks to Elisa Byrnes (Montessori Magnet), Laura Mack (Churchill Road), Laura Schairbaum (PCV, Kabe), Amanda Dowell (PCV, Kola) and Jamyel Jennifer (PCV, Fangasso) who coordinated the exchanges at their respective schools! Thanks, too, to all teachers, principals, students and parents whose many efforts made the exchanges great successes!

Students from Kabe Elementary School in Kabe, Mali.

Students from Kabe Elementary School in Kabe, Mali.
 
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View past E-newsletters and bulletins on our new
Newsletter Archive Page!


OneWorld Classrooms is a nonprofit organization that builds bridges of learning between the classrooms of
the world. We offer FREE online travel and a variety of opportunities for K-12 classrooms to interact with overseas partners. Since 1999, over 5,000 classrooms from around the world have participated.