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Project Overview...
New this
year, the project is being conducted in one, yearlong
session.
From September 17 - February 15, we will exchange postcards.
From March 4 - May 10 participants will be offered a
variety of activities to reinforce and extend their learning.
These activities will include the "Mystery Class"
game (played via the web) and a version of "Twenty Questions"
which will be conducted live, via online chat.
During this period, participants may contribute to the
Postcard Geography Gallery, to share their success with the world!
Participating...
This is a class
to class exchange. Decide which grade
category best meets the needs and interests of your class. You may register
(separately) for as many categories as you wish.
The project is free of charge and open to all learning
groups in the world. However, join only if you have a serious desire
to participate and a commitment to fulfill the project obligation
(sending a card to every class on your selected category list).
The project is rewarding and exciting for students,
but does require serious work and can be expensive! Only you can determine
whether this project is a good "fit" for your learners.
If the project fits...join us!
You will be expected to remain on our Teacher Discussion
List. This list provides a a wonderful place for participants to share
ideas and ask questions. The discussion list is also allows the project
moderator to inform participants of changes and developments as the
project progresses. While you may not wish to post messages, we expect
everyone to read them. Should you unsubscribe from this mailing list,
we will assume that you are leaving the project and your class will
be removed from the project database.
If, in spite of your best intentions, you are unable
to continue with the project, PLEASE inform Leni
and other participants through the discussion list. Please do NOT
simply "drop out" causing disappointment for students and
teachers.
Preparing...
Obtain a supply of postcards and stamps. You can purchase
your own or find donated cards from local business and civic organizations,
PTA/PTO, or parents.
Your students can also make their own postcards...or
the class can design and manufacture a single card. If you create
your own cards, be sure they clearly describe your community in pictures
and words.
There are now a number of sites that allow creation
of "local" electronic postcards, as well. See the Resources
page for a sampling of such listings.
The project listserv is an excellent source for gathering
clever ideas for obtaining your postcards!
Decide how you will display postcards and maps used
in the project. Bulletin boards, scrapbooks, web pages....the sky
is the limit!
Print out the appropriate "Participant Mailing
List(s)" for your category(s) of participation. As the lists
are automatically updated as new registrants join the project, it
is wise to wait to print your lists until the registration period
closes!
Organizing Students...
Introduce the project to your students.
Help students organize the project management. As appropriate,
develop Teams for:
- addressing postcards to the mailing list
- maintaining mailing list records
- downloading and distributing new participant addresses
- maintaining displays
- providing publicity within the school community
and with the local press and media
Processing...
If making computer or handmade cards, design and assemble
cards.
Teach students postcard writing protocols:
- proper addressing (Be
sure to include an accurate return address and participant # on all
your postcards!)
- where to write on the postcard
- the importance of focus and brevity in their message
- reinforce our purpose: to teach others about
our communities..not to exchange personal information about individual
students
Send
your first postcard to the participant whose name follows yours
on your mailing list(s). This will ensure that all
participants begin to receive cards immediately and increase the
likelihood of all receiving equal numbers of cards. Send to ALL
participants on your list..your cooperation here is critical to
the success of the project!
Please have patience with one another and with the
project moderator. Every participant implements this project in
their own way, on their own timeline. Remember, you have until February
to complete your mailing! There is no need to rush to get out all
your cards in the first weeks or month. We all do the best we can
to make this project successful. An appreciative attitude is always
helpful. Please model responsible, positive behavior for your students.
Help them understand the real give and take necessary when participating
in collaborative, global projects.
Sharing...
Share your success! In the extension phase,
from Feb. - May, please send digital photos, links to your own project
web site, success stories, brags, etc. to Leni
for inclusion in the Postcard Geography Gallery.
Be sure to watch the mailing list for the excellent
ideas of other project participants that you can use with your learners!
Actively participate in the mailing list to share your
own ideas, ask questions, and make comments. Let's hear from you!
In the extension phase, as we conduct activities to
help your students reinforce and apply their new understanding of
geography and other cultures, join in! Participate in the "Mystery
Class" guessing game. Join our spirited "Twenty Questions"
sessions! Contribute suggestions for additional activities we can
all ENJOY!!!
Teaching Standards...
With effective classroom implementation and management,
this project enables or enhances teaching to the following Social
Studies Standards:
- People Places and Environment
- Early Grades:
construct and use mental maps of locales, regions; interpret, use
and distinguish various representations of the earth (maps, globes,
photographs).
- Middle Grades:
elaborate mental maps of locale, regions and the world; create use
and distinguish various representations of the earth.
- High School: refine
mental maps of locales, regions and the world; create,interpret, use
and synthesize information from various representations of the earth.
- Global Connections
-
- Early Grades: explore
ways that language, art, music, belief systems and other cultural
elements may facilitate global understanding or lead to misunderstanding.
- Middle Grades: describe
instances in which language, art, music, belief systems and other
cultural elements can facilitate global understanding or cause misunderstanding.
- High School: explain
how language, art, music, belief systems and other cultural elements
can facilitate global understanding or cause misunderstanding.
- Culture
- Early Grades: compare
ways in which people from different cultures think about and deal
with their physical environment and social conditions; give examples
and describe the importance of cultural unity and diversity within
and across groups.
- Middle Grades:
explain why individuals and groups respond differently to their physical
and social environments and/or changes to them on the basis of shared
assumptions, values, and beliefs; articulate the implications of cultural
diversity, as well as cohesion within and across groups.
- High School: compare
and analyze societal patterns for preserving and transmitting culture
while adapting to environmental or social change; demonstrate the
value of cultural diversity, as well as cohesion, within and across
groups; interpret patterns of behavior reflecting values and attitudes
that contribute or pose obstacles to cross-cultural understanding.
In addition to Social Studies Standards, Language
Arts Standards (national and local), and Technology Standards (again,
both national and local) can be met through participation in this
project.
Teaching Extensions...
This project is designed to be open-ended and flexible.
Depending upon the age and learning needs of your students, your teaching
discipline, and your access to resources (including technology), you
can extend the project far beyond the suggested postcard exchange.
In previous years, the following extensions have been used by creative,
proactive teachers, just like you!
- Suggestions:
- With young students, find beautiful photo books
or picture books about the various regions of the country and the
world. As postcards arrive, spend time with the books/pages that relate
to the area from which the cards were received. This works well as
part of the "morning opening" in elementary classrooms. With older
students (upper elementary through high school) assign teams to do
the research and presentation about each postcard.
- With students of all ages, provide occasion for
extended use of maps and globes: determine the distance cards have
traveled; implement guessing contests for longest distance traveled,
card received from the community closest to yours, etc. Consider creating
a database of participants in your category or a spreadsheet that
will allow you to manipulate numerical information. Math can be incorporated
in numerous ways. From simple Kindergarten counting and graphing activities,
to calculating locales of predominant contributors through tables
and charts there are many opportunities to compare, contrast and calculate.
- Extend the cultural exchange by selecting classrooms
for additional e-mail or ongoing curricular collaboration. This project
can be a wonderful "open door" to students from all over
the world!
- Technology ideas proliferate! You can have your
students create their own postcards using desktop publishing programs;
students can create multimedia "cards" through authoring programs
(HyperStudio, PowerPoint, etc.) which can be transmitted electronically;
Web site"postcards" can be created (with invitation to other classes
to visit and learn).
- Cross-age learning is a natural in a project
like this. Team your class with younger or older students with whom
they can share their expertise about the states and countries from
which cards are received. Have your class create school-wide displays
of their cards, and share their progress through periodic classroom
visits or school-wide assemblies.
- Though far from exhaustive, these ideas may spark
some extended use of the project. Be sure to share YOUR creative ideas
for implementing Postcard Geography through our mailing list!
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