Some Global Opportunities

We wanted to share with you some opportunities that you might be interested in.  There are a few Global Projects coming up early in the school year, so if you want to get involved in them, you might want to start thinking about it now.  For those who have not done any Global Collaborations, these are some great starting points. There are no mandatory amounts of time you have to participate in either of these projects. For each project, you do as much or as little as you want.  It is all up to you.  They are just opportunities to be involved, challenge yourself a bit, and involve your students globally.

International Dot Day - September 15, 2013

This day is inspired by the wonderful book entitled, The Dot, by Peter Reynolds.  (I have this book, if you'd like to borrow it)  It is an inspiring picture book in which a student is encouraged to make her mark and, as a result, learn more about what makes her who she is.  It is a really sweet story and a great lesson for all of us.

If you'd like to see what some other students/teachers have done in the past with this book, you can look here.  Diana Williams also participated in this project last year. You can read her blog post about it and see some of what her students created here. 

Here is a video that was made about the book:

There are other schools in Surrey (and around the world, of course), who will be reading this book. Tia was contacted about it by a couple of other administrators in our district and they are wanting to know if there are any interested teachers in participating in this project and perhaps collaborating and sharing with other classes in Surrey.  If you are interested in participating, either in Dot Day or in a more collaborative project with other classes in Surrey, please let Tia know. 

Global Read Aloud - September 30 - November 8

The Global Read Aloud is a fabulous opportunity to be introduced with some great books with wonderful, powerful messages.  Watch this video to learn a little about the Global Read Aloud by the founder, Grade 5 teacher, Pernille Ripp:




Here is more information here about the books that are being read during this year's Global Read Aloud:

K's: Eric Carle Books
Grade 1- 3: Marty McGuire
Grade 4-7: Out of My Mind

I have Marty McGuire and Out of My Mind.  Out of My Mind is an amazing book. You can read my blog post about it here, if you are interested.

Pernille has a lot of information on the Global Read Aloud, if you want to learn more. If you plan on being involved, please let Carrie and Tia know as we'd love to make guest appearances to read some of the chosen books as well.  Tia could also help with the global connections (we can figure it out together).

Global Cardboard Challenge/Global Day of Play - September and  October 5

Not sure if you will remember the video that we included in our weekly memo last year called, Caine's Arcade.  It was an inspiring story about a 9 year old boy who created an arcade completely out of cardboard. he spent a great deal of time and a whole lot of energy (as well as incredible creativity). Here is the original video here:


Caine's story went global and was an inspiration to many. In fact, last year was the first Global Cardboard Challenge as a result, in which children take cardboard to create anything they want, anything they have passion to create.  You can read more about the specifics here.  


If you are interested in having your students participate in any of the projects above, please let Carrie and Tia know and we will support you and your students in any way we are able.