Global+Education

Global Education Lesson Plan

**D****escription:** The assignment was to read about Global Education in different articles that were presented online to gain an understanding of the concept. From there we were to come up with a lesson that we could use in our classroom to incorporate a global and cultural understanding for our students.  This assignment forced us to review the ISTE Technology Standards, 21st Century Skills, our State Standards, and create a formal lesson plan. You were to create a lesson that could be taught in your current setting. This meant finding articles that applied to your students to help come up with a beneficial lesson. By looking at the standards, rubric, and expectations, it was evident that a great deal of planning would go into this plan. You had to make sure to include ways students would learn through various media, collaborate with others, and explore global issues.



** Process : **  I first went through and read the different article about global education and culture. I automatically thought about the Geography Unit that I teach, and thought reevaluating the way I teach that unit would be the best fit for this assignment. From there, I was able to determine which sites would benefit me and my students the most for me to take a closer look at. The one I really liked was the PBS kids site with Arthur. What I really liked about this site was that I could take some pieces from Arthur and incorporate them into activities that I already do with my students. It also made me think of a different way of presenting the information the my students. The next step was to add the technology components, which was just a matter of incorporating a variety of Web 2.0 tools that I have been exposed to throughout the EDT program. The ones that I thought would be most beneficial were VoiceThread, Google Sites, and Skype. Pen palling is an easy way to connect globally. The best part is that I actually have a connection with students in Africa through another teacher in my building. When I finished my lesson plan, I was able to go through the three different standards and see if you my lesson would hit each standard. It was then that I became very excited about teaching this lesson. It is such a great way for students to learn about the world. I think it would even be fun!

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 * Reflection:  I really liked the idea of this assignment. I know a lot of the content that I teach to my students is important, but thinking about it in more of a global fashion made the unit so much better. I have already taught my geography unit this year, and I am currently doing pen pals through Google Sites. By creating this lesson, it made me completely rethink how I am going to teach the unit at the beginning of next year. I can use some pieces of this lesson plan with my current students as they are still communicating with their pen pals. Their pen pals this year are only about 20 minutes away, so we don't really have huge cultural, economic, population, language, or settlement differences. I think it would still be interesting for each set of students to analyze their neighborhood and compare/contrast it with their pen pal. I am sure there would be some differences, but definitely more similarities. I think it is important to think about a variety of standards when creating lesson plans. If I am stuck on any one set of standards, I feel like my lessons revert back to more 20th Century teaching practices. I am a very kinesthetic teacher, however, I think having to review the 21st Century Skills makes me think of more extending and refining activities that students can do to make them better prepared for the future. Everyday I incorporate technology into my classroom, but I know I should be doing more. Doing a lesson plan like this forced me to think outside the box and figure out a way to incorporate a long list of standards to help my students understand their lives on a global level.