Global Connections for Classrooms
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Author Archives: kidworldcitizen
Teach Kids About Africa as if Our Lives Depend Upon It — and Maybe They Do
On top of the shear panic unleashed by the spread of the Ebola virus from West Africa, an astonishing amount of ignorance has reared its ugly head. As some havecommented, this ignorance may be more dangerous to millions of people than the actual virus, and the unfamiliarity could even make matters worse, by focusing our concerns in the wrong direction, and isolating people and places from technology, education, and healthcare.
When my family was getting ready to live in West Africa a few years ago, it felt like everyone would ask us about the animals — but that part of Africa has virtually no exotic animals roaming around and “it’s not the Lion King set!” as my then-11-year-old daughter would exclaim in exasperation. The other common reaction revolved around the astonishment that we were going to “Africa, Africa?!” “It’s so far away.” “I can’t imagine ever going there.” Or “That’s my lifelong dream to go there” (often followed by a sigh that it would never happen).
60+ Books about World Religions
This is a post in a series on World Religions for Kids, a group of articles packed with resources to help teachers and parents teach their children about World Religions as a means to promote compassion, empathy, cultural understanding, and tolerance. These books are a sample of the incredible list of 300+ multicultural books featured in The Global Education Toolkit for Elementary Learners, a new book with hundreds of easy activities, resources, and projects to help busy educators incorporate global and cultural awareness in their classroom.
The books contain affiliate links. Thank you for your support!
General Books about World Religions
Use these books to explore similarities and differences in traditions, rituals, beliefs, and celebrations of world religions for kids.
Buller, Laura (2005). A Faith Like Mine
DK Publishing (2011). What Do You Believe?
Glossop, Jennifer, & Mantha, John (2003). The Kids Book of World Religions. Toronto, Canada: Kids Can Press. In addition to the general information about the different world religions for kids, it also includes info on leaders and places of worship (focusing on the major religions only).
Lumbard, Alexis York (2014). Everyone Prays. Bloomington, IN: Wisdom Tales. Perfect introductory text for kids ages 4-8, with a unifying message that despite our different cultures and traditions, many people have a deep faith.
Meredith, Susan (2012). The Usborne Book of World Religions
Osborne, Mary Pope (1996). One World, Many Religions: The Ways We Worship. New York, NY: Knopf Books for Young Readers. Includes Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, for ages 8-12.
School Library Journal Reviews The Global Education Toolkit
On May 8, 2014, the School Library Journal wrote this excellent review of The Global Education Toolkit for Elementary Learners. In addition to appearing on-line, the article was also featured in School Library Journal‘s Curriculum Connections e-newsletter.
Teaching kids to think globally is no longer an option. Technological advances have made our world smaller and the impact of nations on distant places and cultures is ever more pronounced. Add to that, the number of children who enter our public schools speaking a first (or second) language other than English, and it’s imperative that we open their classmates’ eyes to the world that exists beyond our borders.
With The Global Education Toolkit for Elementary Learners (Corwin, 2014), Homa Sabet Tavanger, author ofGrowing Up Global: Raising Children to Be at Home in the World(Random, 2009) and Becky Mladic-Morales, founder ofKidWorldCitizen.org, have compiled a treasure trove of materials guaranteed to encourage and energize meaningful global learning. Infused with enthusiasm, this how-to guide for adults working with K-5 students is chockfull of practical ideas, activities, and resources. A password-protected companion site with links to materials referenced in the text is indispensable, so Internet access while using the toolkit is a must.
In Chapter 1, the authors offer guidance for assessing a school community’s commitment to global learning and suggest using an online “Global Footprint quiz” to determine an entry point for raising awareness and building a curriculum. They recognize the value of an International Night or other related events, “perhaps as a stepping stone to more in-depth curricular integration,” and provide a planning timeline along with pointers for engaging stakeholders, enlisting volunteers, and tapping into the larger community. Chapter 2, aptly titled “Things to Do,” details creative approaches to school-wide and classroom activities that incorporate crafts, food, music, games, language, and more.
For teachers and schools that are ready to move beyond an event, Chapter 3, “Infusing Global Learning Into Academic Subject Areas,” provides lesson plans in global education aligned with Common Core State Standards. Wisely, the authors prompt teachers to look within topics commonly taught in elementary schools, such as nutrition, pollution, the water cycle, families, etc., for simple ways in which to add a broader, global perspective, and they present examples to get teachers started.
With an emphasis on teaching empathy by building relationships, the last two chapters, “Technology Tools to Connect With the World” and “Charitable Giving and Service,” are a solid source of suggestions for opening doors to the world. Technology tools encompass social media, blogs and wikis, videoconferencing, online lesson plans, digital multimedia, and global professional development with helpful hints on specific tools, such as a list of “12 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom,” how to increase student participation with a “Skype Jobs Chart,” and a sampling of particularly effective classroom blogs.
As children learn about the world, they’ll also learn that the distribution of resources and advantages isn’t equal. Students develop empathy as they’re guided through service activities that can make a difference; service that is carefully planned, has a purpose, and is integrated with learning objectives. Inspiring examples of kids in action along with links to global organizations are nicely incorporated. Rounding out the toolkit are a few additional resources, including a printable global passport and a geographically arranged “Multicultural Book List” featuring over 300 titles.
This article was featured in School Library Journal‘s Curriculum Connections enewsletter.Subscribe today to have more articles like this delivered every month for free.
IB World Magazine Praises “Global Education Toolkit”
We are excited to see more and more global educators interested in our new book. Thank you to IB World magazine for highlighting “The Global Education Toolkit for Elementary Learners” in the most recent (March) issue. IB World magazine is the official magazine of the International Baccalaureate® (IB), published twice per year in hardcopy and online.
Introduce Kids to “Mama Miti:” Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Maathai
Wangari Maathai (1 April 1940 – 25 September 2011) grew up in the green highlands of Kenyan. After she returned from studying college in the US she discovered that her lush homeland was being destroyed by deforestation which caused water and food shortages, malnutrition, and disappearing wildlife. She began to educate others to care for the land and re-plant the forests and they called her Mama Miti, “Mother of Trees.” Ms Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, which empowered woman around Kenya to help take back their land, planting tree by tree.
For her compassion and efforts she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. She was the first African woman and environmentalist to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Here are resources you can use to teach your children about this inspirational, remarkable woman, and her plight to save her country’s landscape. Continue reading…
Lesson for All: Enhancing Global Competence
By Ed Gragert: Director, Global Campaign for Education-US
Increasingly, we are expecting our teachers to produce globally competence students, ones that have a global awareness, are speakers of World Languages and who interact with peers around the world to both give and listen to differing perspectives. And all of this should be done while collaborating in teams, and involving significant critical thinking and problem-solving project-based learning. Whew! Personally, I would not know where to start if this was on my shoulders.
It’s great that Becky Morales and Homa Tavangar are providing concrete step-by-step examples of how younger students can learn about and engage with the world. And from my experience in iEARN, kindergarten through 6th grade is a great age to start engaging them and preparing for additional work at the high school level. Continue reading
“Globalizing” a Lesson on Rivers
By Becky Mladic-Morales
In our book, The Global Education Toolkit, we offer many examples of common lessons in elementary schools, and show how to bring in a global aspect. Without having to revamp curriculum, teachers can incorporate a global perspective into activities across subject areas.
Learning about rivers (among other water sources) is a common elementary school social studies and science topic. Here’s how teachers can take some of the frequent learning objectives when teaching kids about rivers, and add a global twist!
Global Collaboration in Early Childhood Education
By Becky Mladic-Morales
I frequently get questions from teachers and homeschoolers about how to incorporate global learning into lessons for the youngest students. Margaret Powers is the Lower School Technology Coordinator for The Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square, PA. She has an amazing web site called Tech for a Global Early Education, that is chock full of valuable resources. Margaret is passionate about global education for early childhood, and using educational technology to connect with students around the world, and shares some of her tips and resources with us today.
International Food Fest
By: Becky Mladic-Morales
Many people think of kids as picky eaters, who won’t try new foods- which is certainly true in some cases. But under the right conditions, and with the right prompting and preparation, an International Pot-luck during international week might be a way for kids to try different flavors, and learn a bit about cultural cuisines and traditions.
The Global Education Toolkit 