Around the World in 5th Hour

Field trips can be difficult to arrange for any teacher.  Permission slips, lunches, buses, and coordinating times with the visiting site can be stressful enough.  But if your curriculum involves world cultures, taking a field trip is nearly impossible.

Jennifer Wallace, 6th grade teacher at East Middle School, found a way around the physical barriers of field trips.  In designing a unit on The Nile in Egypt, her goal was that students would recognize how the body of water affects life around it.  Using Google maps and 360 Cities, students compared The Nile to local creeks.  This led to discussions and activities to assist students in recognizing the plant and animal life in both areas.  Jennifer didn't stop there, however.  Through the United States Embassy in Cairo, she was put in touch with someone working in water conservation who agreed to hold a Skype conference with Jennifer's 5th hour social studies class.  Students created questions prior to the event and interviewed him about water conservation, how water affects various living creatures, and how humans interact with the environment in Egypt.

This transforming lesson directly met three pieces of the eMINTS Instructional Model.  Students were engaged in a quality, inquiry based lesson that was powered by technology.  Using the technology available to them, students experienced learning that would not have been possible otherwise.  In addition to this, the students were able to identify multiple viewpoints and perspectives.