Click on the link below to view the ePals lesson. It is a several week project that includes student worksheets and assessment rubrics.

My 3rd graders used a friendly letter format to email their pen pals (ePals) in Ghana. Great experience!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GpzRjRSboRf8aDE8MBlaUt_dyIzRPd2LGKLXRENcKl8/edit

Project update for 3/15/12

Tonight I created 2 rubrics to evaluate the students' work using "rubistar". I also created a survey for the to critique and express their feelings towards this project. We are patiently waiting for our friends in Ghana to write to us this week. While we were waiting this week, we watched a great 20 minute video on "united streaming" that followed a young girl through daily life in Ghana. We saw how they lived, played, learned in school, and did daily chores. Their culture and festivals were touched upon. My students can't wait to ask our epals about some of the games they saw the children play in phys. ed. and want to know if they play them too. Very exciting unit!!

Project in motion...

This past week my students were assigned an epal from Ghana. They were able to introduce themselves through my school email account. The students wrote briefly about where we live and their families. We are patiently ;) waiting to hear back from our far away friends. I really wish our students were allowed access to a personal epal account, it would be so much easier and less time consuming than signing all 17 computers into my school email account. This should be a fun project overall despite the setback.

Math Blog

http://mathgoodies.blogspot.com/

Project Update

My students will hopefully be speaking with students who are in 3rd and 4th grade through epals in Ghana.  Ghana is on the west coast of Africa along the Ivory Coast. I have been in contact, slowly but surely, with a teacher there who has informed me that these students are eager to learn about us and our community and speak English.  This appears to be a great upcoming project for the kids.

World Communities Project