Connections Across the World
“As educators, we often ask ourselves big questions about how we can do what’s right for our students: How can we show kids what exists outside the four walls of our classroom? How can we teach them about different cultures? How can we build bridges to teach global citizenship? How can we help kids connect?”
Lorraine Magee, Natick Public School teacher, had an idea. Combining her love for reading and her pre-existing connection to REACH through She’s the First, Lorraine got in touch with us about setting up a Global Read Aloud program with her students and our 3rd grade class. Over the course of a few months our students in Uganda read The BFG by Ronald Dahl at the same time as her class; exchanging letters back and forth discussing the chapters they had read. While asking questions about their favorite silly words in the text and what their family is like they grew connected to the students on the other side of the letter.
After so many letters written back and forth, our students were so happy to fully connect with Ms. Magee’s students through a Skype call the other week! Their faces lit up with excitement as soon as their faces popped up on the screen. More questions were asked and songs were sung on both sides. It was a great way to combine our
student’s love for reading and teaching them how similar they are to students around the world.