Global Lesson Plans???

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Claire Gibson on October 5, 2009 at 12:52pm

I was substitute teaching as I was traveling and not considering becoming a teacher at ALL. Then, when I was asked to teach 6th grade social studies as a long-term sub, I found myself telling and re-telling my experiences abroad. The kids really liked it! That is when I decided to become a "real" teacher, and will be certified by this December. Now when I travel, I am much more intentional about it. I have a trip to Tanzania coming up next month, and you can believe that I will be just as much a student there as I am a teacher here! I always try to relate something from the outside world into whatever lesson I am teaching-I like to make it relevant to their lives, even if it's not their immediate world.

Permalink Reply by Lindsey Stetson on October 5, 2009 at 12:59pm

I agree with you. The kids do like hearing the stories that I tell as well, however, I always find it awkward to bring up trip stories. Of course they would like to hear about them, but I sort of feel like I'm bragging or something.

Now...do I sound more like a teacher or a student???

Ha. I think I may feel that way because most of my classes are team taught, so there is always another teacher in the room.

Permalink Reply by Claire Gibson on October 5, 2009 at 1:36pm

I can definitely understand that-do you think it would be different if you were by yourself? I really do think kids love to hear ANYthing outside of their textbook sometimes! The one I was using was awful so I had to do something to keep their attention!

We are covering China today and of course the Great Wall comes up. I took the opportunity to tell them, not all about how I climbed it and took awesome pictures :) but how much of it has been restored within the last century in order to appeal to tourists. On Friday I will show them pictures, but only after we have been through Chinese history then and now. I also like to pick a novel and end each class by reading little sections of it. The novel is relevant to whatever unit we are studying. Right now, I have chosen "Red Scarf Girl" about a girl growing up during the Cultural Revolution.

Permalink Reply by Hjortur Smarason on October 10, 2009 at 8:48pm

I like the way you use storytelling, whether those stories come from your own experience or novels, to teach the kids. It puts the education into context and it is first then that it sticks to their brain :)

Permalink Reply by Claire Gibson on October 11, 2009 at 1:51pm

Sticking to their brain is crucial. I hate the thought of teaching them something only so that they can learn it for a test. I want them to remember it for a long time and use it! It's even better, if I am using a novel, when the main character is their age. It makes it even more relevant and enjoyable...and sometimes has them asking if we can skip class in order to read!

Permalink Reply by Lindsey Stetson on October 5, 2009 at 3:24pm

Sounds great! I would love to teach geography. I would love to teach geography, or something closely related to all of the cultures of the world. Here in Georgia, all 8th grade students are taught Georgia History. It's fine if you like talking about the Civil War...but I imagine that can get boring really fast.

Yes, sharing my experiences is quite different when I'm not co-teaching with anyone.

Permalink Reply by Hjortur Smarason on October 10, 2009 at 4:39am

I'm not really a teacher, but I do use my travels a lot in my teaching though :) I teach Internet Marketing, both at Universities, in private courses and courses for institutions and organizations. Since a lot of my students are travel operators my travel experiences both offline and online are very important for my teaching as examples and putting theories into context.

Travelling and teaching has one vital part in common. The desire to discover.

What traveling teachers can bring to the classroom is showing their students that there's no one way of thinking. What is normal and granted in one place can be very exotic in another. Being able to teach students even just that, is a huge accomplishment and brings us closer to a peaceful, understanding and tolerant world.

I like the idea behind this group, so I decided to join.

Cheers
Hjörtur

ps. I can't really help you with your question, but I might add one thing though. I speak Icelandic as my native language. Icelandic is pretty much unchanged since the year 1.000 when all Vikings spoke one language. English is a descendant of that old language and if you compare old English to Icelandic you'll discover that it is the same language. Modern English has taken up a lot of words from Latin/French which has reshaped the language through the centuries. When you view languages, culture and geography from a historical perspective you'll see a lot of connections and familiarities that you might not have noticed before. I find it very interesting to look at the origin of language in historical, geographical and political perspective to understand why we speak like we do. If you do not find any cultural lessons for an English curriculum, I'll be happy to brainstorm with you on what could be created :)

Permalink Reply by Lindsey Stetson on October 10, 2009 at 7:59pm

Wow! Interesting post! What do you mean you're not a teacher? You taught me something!

Languages are extremely interesting. Have you studied any other languages or the origin of language? I'm part Basque...even though I'm American. I've heard that the Basque language is sort of an anomaly.

What you said about teaching people that there is no one way of thinking is one of the most important lessons that any student can learn. Sharing other ideas, ways of living, cultural experiences, etc., is one of the reasons I want to blog about my travel experiences.

Blake and I were thinking of adding a global lesson plan component to our blogs, but I don't know if that is still a part of our vision anymore. Blake teaches high school Spanish, and I teach middle school English. I would love to start up a different website solely for kids. It would be cool to also add a component dedicated to global lesson plans and service learning projects.

On a different note, I see that you go to Florida pretty often. I used to live there. It's kind of ironic because as I'm typing this message, I'm in the same room with a guy that worked at the Magic Kingdom for several years, and we were just talking about it. Funny.

Permalink Reply by Hjortur Smarason on October 10, 2009 at 8:45pm

Do you speak any Basque? I don't know any basque and have not yet been there (might go next summer though), but you're right. No one knows where that language came from - which I find quite fascinating.

I've never studied languages, except learning them in high school. I'm an anthropologist and foreign cultures and languages have always fascinated me. Spanish is one language I must learn. I think it is a very beautiful language. I studied Spanish for a few weeks in Sevilla but though I learn fast, I forget even faster :)

Say hi to your friend and give him my gratitude for all the marvelous moments we've had in the Magic Kingdom. We're huge Disney fans, as you're probably aware of if you've seen we go to Florida a lot.

I met a guy a few months ago who was establishing an international school for teenagers that travelled around the world, staying about 3 months in each location. The aim was to raise global citizens with global networks. I'll post his link here if I find it again.

Permalink Reply by Claire Gibson on October 11, 2009 at 1:55pm

Yes, def post that link if you can find it! Sounds awesome and like just my kind of teaching position ;)
Welcome to the group!

Permalink Reply by Claire Gibson on October 11, 2009 at 2:00pm

Hi Lindsey,
This is an organization that a friend from college recently started. Is this along the lines of what you were thinking for global lesson plans? check it out at http://www.lasdoschicas.org/ I am sure she would be happy to answer questions or at least jumpstart with ideas. I am also willing to help brainstorm! Love the idea.