Christmas is a time of excitement for so many children around the world. This joy is infectious and needs to be shared. I do not believe that a textbook does an adequate job encompassing this. Give your students an authentic opportunity to learn what the holiday season is like for other kids around the globe. Here is why I created the #christmaswhereweare project two years ago. WOW what a difference it has made. My students, and students around the world, have connected with Brazil, Argentina, China, Australia, Finland, Ethiopia, South Africa, Ghana, Netherlands, Sweden, USA and more. Classrooms are learning all about traditions, similarities and differences, of the holiday season by connecting with kids just like them. The engagement and authentic learning can not be matched. This project is starting up again for its third year. The guidelines are simple. If the time zones match-up then organize a videoconference. Add as many classes to your chat as possible. If times zones don’t match-up then create a video or play, expressing your cultures and traditions. (Examples are up on the Twitter hashtag) Lastly, if those modes don’t work simply blog about it or open up a Twitter chat. Really the only rule is you post it on Twitter hashtag #christmaswhereweare so the world can learn from and with you. Please play on the Christmaswhereweare.weebly.com website to see previous projects. So please join this project and enrich the experience for your kiddos. They will thank you for it! If you wish to participate in this project add yourself here to connect with other teachers. If you require any additional information please contact me on Twitter @rondorland
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What a success #christmaswhereweare has been. All continents, minus one frozen one, participated and kids everywhere are thankful. To all teacher who signed up their classes, you enhanced the learning for your kids, and once again they thank you.
Now, spread the word that this project is an annual curriculum booster. Let teachers at your school know. Tell friends and friends of friends. Let's go from 30 classrooms to 300 next year! To all I wish a merry Christmas and a happy, family-oriented holiday season! And I hope to see you next year! THANK YOU! @rondorland Last year I finally had enough of telling my students what the holiday season looks like in different countries and cultures around the world. I wanted to give them an authentic experience of learning about Christmas and other holidays. So last year my grade 7 classroom was the beneficiary of the amazing Twitter platform and teachers who, just like me, wanted to enrich their classroom. And, in the world we live in, we as educators can and should do much better than handing out worksheets about Christmas in Uganda.
So last year, I placed a tweet asking teachers from around the world to join a project where kids shared their Christmas stories, using a new hashtag #christmaswhereweare. And WOW what a difference it has made. My students connected with Australia, Finland, Ethiopia, South Africa, Ghana, Netherlands and Sweden. They learned traditions, similarities and differences. They also learned that regardless of where you live, family is at the centre. My students didn’t just love learning all about celebrations globally but they also loved and felt proud to share their own traditions and talk about their own values. The project brought kids together and families together. The engagement and authentic learning could not be matched. This project is starting up again. The guidelines are simple. If the time zones match-up then organize a videoconference. Add as many classes to your chat as possible. If times zones don’t match-up then create a video or play, expressing your cultures and traditions. (Examples are up on the Twitter hashtag) Lastly, if those modes don’t work simply blog about it or open up a Twitter chat. Really the only rule is you post it on #christmaswhereweare so the world can learn from and with you. So please join this project and enrich the experience for your kiddos. They will thank you for it! If you wish to participate in this project add yourself here to connect with other teachers. If you require any additional information please contact me on Twitter @rondorland |
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November 2017
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