Manga Inspires Gobal Community Service Porject

Earlier this school year, students were asked to think of topics they would like to research applying what they learned about reading critically and the elements of nonfiction text. Many students expressed an interest in Manga. I decided to expand the research project to include Japan's culture. To give students an opportunity to contribute to our global community, I searched the ePals community for a Japanese classroom wanting to exchange cultural information. I made a connection with a sixth grade classroom in Shizuoka, Japan that started a photo exchange project to help them learn English. As a class, we decided to focus our pictures on school life. A classroom blog was set up via ePals SchoolBlog for students to post journal entries and share their pictures and captions with the exchange class.

Background Info

I teach sixth grade reading utilizing project-based learning and technology at Westridge Middle School in an urban section of Florida. I started the year with 17 students, 2 moved, and 6 were added at various times during the first 12 weeks of school. This is the first experience my students have had with project-based learning and they are beginning to develop 21st Century Skills. I am fortunate this year to have recieved a wireless cart with 20 laptops and a projector 9 weeks into the school year which now allows us to tackle more indepth projects. Students will acquire basic computer skills using EasyTech.

Welcome!

BLASTT was implemeted in 2005 to integrate technology into the reading curriculum using project-based learning. This blog gives educators real-classroom experiences as it takes projects from beginning to end and explores new approaches and technologies used in teaching and learning. What is project-based learning?