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10156 L Street Omaha, NE 68127 (402)614-5381 www.OpportunityEducation.org schools@opportunityeducation.org

Opportunity Education Foundation - International Pen Pal Program

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! LETTER IDEAS ~ ACTIVITIES ~ GLOBAL EDUCATION RESOURCES

Your students are beginning an exciting adventure that will explore learning far beyond textbooks and classroom walls. Writing to a pen pal in another country is an amazing opportunity for both teachers and students to share information that will blossom into global education at its best.

This “Start Your Week Off Write!” guide offers creative ideas, activities and global education resources to integrate the pen pal program into your classroom.

First, to introduce Opportunity Education Foundation and the schools we serve – we highly recommend you watch the videos on our website www.OpportunityEducation.org

We also offer a Letter Lesson Plan Resource that details the Core Curriculum Standards met through writing letters to expand discussion and encourage deeper learning about the lives, culture and country of your pen pals.

Both the Letter Ideas & Activities Guide and Letter Lesson Plans Resource will be grouped into three categories. This enables pen pal coordinators to meet educational goals while making letter writing a fun and rewarding activity.

I. INTRODUCTION LETTERS – getting to know each other, the country and culture.

II. LEARN MORE LETTERS – seeking more understanding about the daily lives, food, clothing and lifestyles.

III. EXPAND LETTERS – diving deeper into social and economic issues facing your pen pals.

We have no strict rules about how to communicate with your pen pal school...letters, pictures, drawings, videos... whatever works well for your classroom will be greatly appreciated by your pen pals. We connect teachers and schools, not individual students, to insure safe correspondence. We only exchange school post mailing addresses. Email addresses of teachers can be supplied if desired but are not necessary to correspond with the pen pal school. It really is as simple as that. Writing a letter is a great way to give teachers a little break with a student-led, creative activity that can be integrated into about any lesson plan...language arts, social studies, history, geography and more! Please follow our “START YOUR WEEK OFF – WRITE” postings every Monday on our Facebook page for contests, info and ideas for writing letters: http://www.facebook.com/OpportunityEducation If you are unable to access Facebook at school, use http://opportunityeducation.wordpress.com/ For more information, you can always check our website that has all the info you need to contact your pen pals: http://www.opportunityeducation.org/our-schools/sister-schools/ Please contact us if you have any questions or suggestions for our program – we really appreciate your feedback! On behalf of your pen pals overseas – thank you!

LET’S GET READY TO WRITE!

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WHO IS OPPORTUNITY EDUCATION AND WHY DO THEY HAVE A PEN PAL PROGRAM?

The mission of Opportunity Education Foundation is making quality education accessible and connecting

classrooms across the globe through our free international pen pal program.

Opportunity Education Foundation is an international non-profit organization that provides educational curricula, teaching

materials, audio-visual equipment, assessments and professional development at no cost to nearly 700,000 students in 1,300 schools throughout Africa and Asia.

To further support our mission, OEF facilitates a Free Sister School Pen Pal Program that connects the schools we

support (Target Schools) with schools around the world (Sister Schools). Both students and teachers exchange letters, videos and more, encouraging academic and social growth. The pen pal program started with the idea of a great teacher – if you have an idea for us, please share it! We appreciate and need your input to make our pen pal program the best for teachers, students and schools. This short video found on www.OpportunityEducationFoundation.org tells the story in 3 minutes – it’s a good way to both introduce and explain OEF to students, teachers, parents or anyone who wants to learn more.

Fascinating Beginnings

Exciting story how the Foundation got started

INTRODUCTION Letter Ideas

September

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! What's for lunch..at your school? At your pen pals' school?

Take pictures of your school lunch food, cafeteria, lunch staff, kitchen, dishwashers, etc. and send with a letter explaining your school lunch. Ask them to do the same, I think your

students will be very surprised with their replies.

October

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! Pen Pal Partner Project – Pairing students of varying abilities in

English composition will work to give students the opportunity to complement each other’s

strengths and weaknesses – while providing additional practice for both partners. Pair them off to

write a letter to their pals!

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October

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! - How about make a home movie? Document the ordinary events

that make up your extraordinary lives! Have a plan & theme, from talent show to mock talk show

interview, or "mockumentary" about a day in the life of your school, your dog, your pencil… but

most importantly - have fun!

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-simple-tips-to-record-great-looking-home-videos/

November

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! Get in the Game! Have your students describe their favorite game

(anything from chess, shoots & ladders to basketball). Are uniforms needed, how many can play, what is the

strategy..get specific. Include photos or drawings of students playing their game. Give students the "goal"

and let them take it from there.

December

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! Need a RECIPE for letter writing success - write a letter

about your favorite recipe, include ingredients (how and where do you get them), process

(microwave versus campfire) and why it's your favorite. Want even more fun..send pics of

students eating their results.

December

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! Simple letter format for sharing the holidays with your pen pals.

" _________ is an important holiday in our home. It takes place (on or during)_________ and celebrates_________. This is a picture of a/an _________. It is _________ (color) and is _________(size). It is important to our celebration of _________ because __________________. I have many memories of it. One time __________________(describe a memory). Another time__________________(describe another memory)."

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/ideas-for-english-language-learners-celebrate-the-holidays/?nl=learning&emc=edit_ln_20121206

Credits: Ideas for English Language Learners | Celebrate the Holidays learning.blogs.nytimes.com

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February

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! Has everyone in Africa seen a giraffe? Is everyone in

Nebraska a farmer? What are the preconceived notions of where you live versus your

pen pal country. Write a letter to clear it up!

March

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! What does equinox mean in your corner of the world...how about in your

pen pal's country. Is it spring, fall, equal daylight and dark...or what. Answer all of these questions in a letter

to your pen pal - science, geography and language arts lesson all in one!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equinox

April

START YOU WEEK OFF WRITE! Collect grocery ads, have students make a list of what they want, give

them a budget for what they need (refer to the food pyramid) - using math, science and then language

skills to wrap it all up in a summary letter to your pen pals! Ask you pen pals to do the same... students will be amazed by the outcomes!

May

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! Start at the end? Direct students to write a story to their pen pals,

but tell it backwards. Students pick the ending, two things that happen in the middle, and then the

beginning. Make sure you send a note to the pen pal teacher to explain your creative writing process -

they will appreciate your ideas!

May

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE!!

Welcome Summer!

You are about to have the longest day of year - celebrate the seasons by going through

magazines and clipping pictures that show what spring, summer, fall and winter look like where

you live. Have students expand on their favorite thing from each season in a letter to their pen

pals.

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May

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE!

Should we be celebrating July 2nd...instead of July 4th?

After long debates, our founding fathers secretly voted for independence on July 2, 1776 -

however, it took until 11 pm on July 4th to finalize the wording on our great Declaration of

Independence!

Most of the countries you are writing to...have only been independent for 70 years or less - look up

their history and ask you pen pals how they celebrate their independence day!

LEARN MORE Letter Ideas

September

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! Who should we thank for...

pj's, buttons, bangles, badminton, and snakes & ladders (early version of the game Shoots &

Ladders)? INDIA of course! Research the inventions that are native to your pen pal country and your

own, write a letter to pen pals about both!

September

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! If I was President, I would....

You may be teaching the future president - get them thinking about what they would do if

they were president - and then organize their ideas in a letter to their pen pals!

October

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE!

And our flag was still there - its been almost 200 years ago that Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the

USA anthem - look up the history...look up the history of your pen pal country's anthem, and write them a

letter! http://www.usflag.org/francis.scott.key.html

November

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! Inspire your students to invent - Louis Braille was born 1809 -

blind in both eyes by age four, he was placed in an institution where he eventually invented the

raised-dot Braille alphabet when he was just 15-years-old! Have your students invent something –

and explain what it is and does in a letter to their pen pals!

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November

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! Double Duty Letter -YES SIR! Write a letter to a Veteran listing 5

ways they have made a difference - then make a copy and send to your pen pals explaining why our

Vets are vital!

http://www.operationgratitude.com/get-involved/write-letters/

Operation Gratitude www.operationgratitude.com Sending Care Packages to U.S. Military

January

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! Happy Birthday! Start your week off right by celebrating birthday's! How do your students

celebrate birthdays? Have them write a letter to their pen pals and ask them the same question.

February

START YOUR WEEK OFF...WRITE! Share a Valentine with your Pen Pal! You can even get a $1 box of small

Valentines for students to sign and send. Your overseas pen pals will have never seen anything like them

and will take great delight in sharing your Valentines with friends and family.

February

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! You. Have to. Watch This! What will you create to make the world

awesome? Ask your students, and share their findings in a letter to your pen pals. Seriously..watch

this video, you will love it :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=l-gQLqv9f4o#!

A Pep Talk from Kid President to You

www.youtube.com We all need a little encouragement every now and then. Kid President, knowing this, has put together a video you can

March

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! Leprechauns, Snakes, 4 leaf clovers...share the symbols and festivities of

St. Patrick's Day with your pen pals!

http://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day-symbols-and-traditions

March

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! Celebrate Pie Day...by throwing hot dogs! Amazing example of our mathematical

universe in action! Fun activity to share with your pen pals - see what they choose to throw and how it turns out!

http://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-Pi-by-Throwing-Frozen-Hot-Dogs

March

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! A Tall Tale? Link to a complete lesson plan from overview to

standard goals - about a Togolese Tale. Find your own tall tale to share with your pen pals.

http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/educators/lessonplans/lesson.cfm?lpid=104&rid=afric

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APRIL

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! What is Numismatics? Great letter idea, explore the currency of

your pen pal school, kids will be amazed by the exchange rates and purchasing power…as well

as income. Have students do the investigating and sum up their findings in a letter to their pen

pals! http://www.usmint.gov/kids/

April

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! Go Fly a Kite – or learn to make one! Posting just a few of the

excellent resources that incorporate a total cross curricular approach to learning about kites.

When you are done, mail them to your pen pals - and watch their spirits soar!

http://www.drachen.org/teach/lessons

http://www.nsa.gov/academia/_files/collected_learning/middle_school/geometry/go_fly_kite.pdf

May

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! - Compare our age of instant messaging to the Pony Express,

and have students share this great historical story with their pen pals!

http://americanhistory.mrdonn.org/ponyexpress.html

EXPAND Letter Ideas

September

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! Research your pen pal’s country for current events – and write a letter asking

your pen pals what they think. Following is a great resource for students’ research projects and for teachers

who want current and comprehensive content on Africa. http://allafrica.com/

September

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! Can pen pal letters make your students more

human. We hope so. Powerful quote reminds us that there is more to education

(and letters) than merely gaining knowledge...its how we use it. Discuss surprising

things you have learned from your letters – and share the highlights with your pen

pals.

Quote from “Teacher and Child: A Book for Parents and Teachers”

Dear Teachers:

I am a survivor of a concentration camp. My eyes saw what no person should witness. Gas chambers built by learned engineers. Children poisoned by educated physicians. Infants killed by trained nurses. Women and babies shot and burned by high school and college graduates. So I am suspicious of education. My request is: help your students become more human. Your efforts must never produce learned monsters, skilled psychopaths, or educated Eichmanns. Reading, writing, and arithmetic are important only if they serve to make our children more human. ~ Haim G. Ginott

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September

GREAT RESOURCE - Complete lesson plan outline, resources and assessments to integrate learning

about your pen pal country and letter writing into lesson plan.

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/global-trek-teachers-guide

October

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! - Is it dangerous to be a lawyer? Is there more than just a simple answer to "What do you

want to be when you grow up?" as detailed in this pen pal letter from an Ugandan student. Read this to your students, research

career choices both here and in your pen pal country - and write a letter to pen pals about it!

November

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! The bloodiest day in American history? Look it up-share what you find with your pen pals. Sadly, chances are good that there has been a bloody civil

war in their recent past. Put your students to work to find the similarities and differences between

the two. http://www.civilwar.org/education/teachers/curriculum/

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December

START YOU WEEK OFF WRITE! Do you have the right?

As the US Supreme Court starts a new session - get your students involved with the issues at hand...compare and contrast with the Rights guaranteed in your pen pals’ country - good stuff for a

letter!

http://www.icivics.org/teachers/lesson-plans/interpreting-constitution-what-does-mean

January

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! "Letters From the Birmingham Jail" Teach the profound impact that

letters can have - awesome lesson plan linked below will give you all the help you need to have students write a persuasive letter to their pen pals.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/writeit/PDF/master_class_king.pdf

February

START YOU WEEK OFF...WRITE!! Share a letter with your pen pal about the cival rights movement - link to

lesson plan and ideas below. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart9b.html

March

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! Letters can tell a great tale! Everybody loves a good story -

Africa, Asia and the USA all have versions of “Brer Rabbit” that teach a lesson. Have students

create their own version with characters a modern twist that explains the moral to their pen pal school. Extra credit: the USA version is quite controversial...have students find out why?

http://asiasociety.org/education/resources-schools/elementary-lesson-plans/animal-tales-travel-around-world

Animal Tales Travel Around the World asiasociety.org This lesson introduces a well-known folk tale, with renditions from India, the United

States, and West Africa.

April

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! Our students have the little pieces for a large world peace.

Brainstorm ideas encouraging students that they have the power to make our world more peaceful

and share these ideas and results with your pen pals in a letter that keeps this peace going...

Make Up Monday - say sorry more

Thankful Tuesday – find things to be thankful for

No Whine Wednesday - only positive comments apply

Thoughtful Thursday - random acts of kindness

New Friend Friday - talk/share with someone you never have before

May

START YOUR WEEK OFF WRITE! Sometimes words can't completely convey feelings. Draw a

picture for your pen pals, that conveys hope. Have students explain their picture to pen pals. Lead by example, share your picture and explanation with students. Hang pictures & words up to

encourage your school and before the year ends mail them to your pen pals.

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www.OpportunityEducation.org 10156 L Street Omaha, NE 68127 (402)614-5381 schools@opportunityeducation.org

Sister School Program Curriculum Extension Activities

The following ideas are extension activities that you may use in your classroom to help foster the Sister School relationship and to create a better understanding of the country in which you partner school is located. These activities may also help you to meet the requirements of your own curriculum standards. Please feel free to share any additional ideas you have with Opportunity Education and the teachers at your sister school. Language Arts/Reading Activities: Introducing Letter Writing & Sentence Structure to Young Students The teacher will model simple sentences on the board or a paper for young learners to help them create a letter to their pen pal. The students will copy the sentences and add their own details. (Examples of simple sentences: "My name is ____ . I live in ______. I like _(to play sports, read, go to the beach, draw, etc.). My birthday is _______ . My favorite color is _________ ." Have the students draw a picture of themselves, their family, their school or a picture of something that they like to do on the letter. Letter Writing Skills Letter writing is an important skills. Please share the template for a friendly letter included in this packet. Compare this style to other types of letters, such as a business letter. Communication Skills Encourage students to read their pen pal letters or to present to the class what they learned about the student at their Sister School and their pen pal's country. Ask the students to compare the letters they write to their pen pal with the communication they have with their own friends at school. Students can go to other classes or organizations to talk about their experiences with their Sister School. Reading for Perspective Students read books which tell them about your Sister School's country, culture and or people. Information they learn from the book can then be discussed with their pen pals. This will help the students remember what they have read and allow them to summarize the facts and details in the book by making connections to their own life and the world around them in a letter form.

Using Text-Features As a class, use non-fiction reading materials with text features (i.e. headings, subheadings, graphic aids, charts, bold & italics prints and captions) to learn about the Sister School country. Understanding the Human Condition Students read historical books about their Sister School country. Students may also research non-fiction books or the internet about country conditions and cultural information. They can compare how life was and how it is for people in the country where their Sister School is located. Students may also ask questions about what they learned with their pen pals.

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Novel Study Read a novel by an author from your sister school country or one that is set in that country. Discuss any cultural similarities and differences found in the book. Writing Evaluation Strategies Photocopy or share 3 to 4 of the letters received from your Sister School. Ask the students to make inferences about the people in the country by listing the characteristics of the students and information revealed in the letters. Students can share the different word meanings they learn from their pen pals. You may want to make a bulletin board or keep a journal about new words in the classroom. Encourage students to work with a partner to review the letter for grammatical errors and to improve sentence structure before they send their letter to their pen pal. Social Studies/Geography Activities: Multicultural Understanding Students can study the language spoken by students at their Sister School. Students can study the customs and traditions of the people in the country of their Sister School. Students should share the information by making a poster or presentation to explain what they learned. Students can organize a cultural day at school and share information about customs, music, stories, dances and food from places all over the world. Students should share the information by making a poster or presentation to show what they learned. Invite parents and members of the community to attend. Government Students research the government of the country of their Sister School and compare & contrast that the their own country's government. Questions for students to research about government:

What is the government type (ex. democracy, monarchy, democratic republic, dictatorship, aristocracy, etc.)?

Where do people in the government get the authority to make, apply and enforce the rules and laws?

What are some of the important things the governments do?

What are the differences and similarities of different types of government?

How does the Sister School country contribute to the global world?

How are the government leaders chosen? Geography Students can research and present on the following:

How is the country divided (i.e. states, territories, etc.)?

Create a map of your Sister School country

Roles of the Citizen Students can research and present on the following:

How does a person become a citizen of each country?

What does it mean to be a citizen of each country?

What are the important rights of citizens in each country?

What are the responsibilities of the citizens of each country?

How do citizens participate in the government of each country?

What role do citizens play in public/community service in the country?

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Mathematics/Economics Activities: Natural Resources and Goods & Services Students can work in groups to determine the natural resources of their country and the Sister School country. Each group can make a display, chart or graph of the natural resources, human resources and the capital goods used to make goods and services for their own country and the Sister School country. Students can also research what is scarce in both countries and make another display, chart or graph to display their findings. Research the type of economic system and goods traded in the students country and their Sister School country. Compare and contrast the information on a Venn Diagram or make another visual aid. Research and discuss common careers and educational systems in each country. Research, compare and report on the prices of common goods, products and services in both countries. Monetary Systems As a class, study the money system of the Sister School country. Develop a budget using the Sister School's money system. Science Activities: As a class, discuss important contributions from scientists in each country and the impact of such contributions to the global world. Discuss environmental challenges which impact both countries. Research and present on proposals to help resolve those problems. Research and report on the climate and weather of specific to different areas within the Sister School country.

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www.OpportunityEducation.org 10156 L Street Omaha, NE 68127 (402)614-5381 schools@opportunityeducation.org

GLOBAL EDUCATION RESOURCES Thank you to Malaika Foundation for collecting the following outstanding global resources for educators to

use in the classroom, including lesson plans, supplemental materials, and research sites.

AllAfrica Resource for students’ research projects and for teachers who want current and comprehensive content on Africa. http://www.allafrica.com

BBC World Class Find elementary and secondary classroom-ready content and lessons by subjects or sites as well as video clips from BBC programs. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools

Building Bridges, National Peace Corps Association Curriculum designed to help U.S. students understand cross-cultural issues and the concept of tolerance. http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/bridges

The Choices Program Site with curriculum units, supplemental materials, and ideas for connecting the classroom to the headlines. http://www.choices.edu

Facing the Future Lessons and teaching activities on global issues such as farming and food production. http://www.facingthefuture.org

Global Ed A source for global education materials for classroom use. The General Resources tab allows access to many cross-curriculum activities and lessons on topics such as “Water: A Key to Understanding India” and “An Issue of Identity: Nationalism.” http://www.globaled.org

Global Education Yellow Pages Clearinghouse for over 1000 global education related websites and organizations. http://www.globaledyellowpages.org

Global Gateway Site that helps schools, students, and teachers to collaborate and connect with other schools in the world on projects such as Flat Stanley. http://www.globalgateway.org/default/aspx?page=1596

Global Teach Net Access a broad range of classroom centered links like “Kids Around the World” for elementary children. http://www.globalteachnet.org/content/education

iEARN (International Education and Resource Network) Teachers and students design and implement online collaborative projects with peers across the globe. Over 20,000 schools in 109 countries are currently linked. Examples of projects include a video-conferencing project between Japanese and American students who create a final media project together. http://www.iearn.org

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International Studies Schools Association, University of Denver Globally inspired lesson plans organized to grade level and academic discipline. http://www.du.edu/issa/curriculumMat.htm/

National Geographic Links to lessons, activities, maps, photos, and many other supplementary materials for use in the classroom. http://www.nationalgeograph.com/education/index.htm/

Nebraska Agriculture in the Classroom Agriculture-focused classroom materials and learning opportunities for teachers. http://www.ne-aitc.org/teachers/index.htm http://www.agclassroom.org/ne

Outreach World Resource for global perspectives in the classroom using “overseas travel reports” by educators (e.g. “David and Steve’s Excellent East Asia Adventure”) http://www.outreachworld.org

Peace Match Program, National Peace Corps Association Matches teachers with returned Peace Corp volunteers to bring personal cross-cultural experiences directly to students in the classroom. http://www.peacematch.org

Read to Feed Lesson plans, activities, and a resource library on global issues such as hunger and poverty, with emphasis on service and humanitarianism. http://www.readtofeed.org

Scholastic One World Lessons on diversity, respect for others, and building communities. http://www.teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/one_world/index.asp

United Nations Cyberschoolbus Teaching materials and activities for elementary and secondary students. http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus

World Wise Schools, National Peace Corps Association Lesson plans indexed by grade, topic, and geographic region. Stories and ideas for service projects based on the experiences of Peace Corps volunteers are included. http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/educators/lessonplans

World History Connected Online quarterly journal featuring articles on concepts in history. Book reviews and links to history-oriented sites. http://www.worldhistoryconnected.press.uiuc.edu/

World View Clearinghouse of global classroom information provided by the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. http://www.unc.edu/world/immigration_resources.shtml

www.OpportunityEducation.org 10156 L Street Omaha, NE 68127 (402)614-5381 schools@opportunityeducation.org

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www.OpportunityEducation.org 10156 L Street Omaha, NE 68127 (402)614-5381 schools@opportunityeducation.org

Thank you for being an ambassador of goodwill and global learning

for our Free, International Sister School Program. Remember to email: schools@opportunityeducation.org whenever you mail letters to your pen pals. This helps us tract your letters for safe delivery and also enters you in the monthly drawing for teachers who send letters. As part of our commitment to expand professional development for teachers both at home and overseas, Opportunity Education Foundation sponsors an annual trip for teachers to visit our schools in Africa and Asia. Our Education Experience Trip seeks to foster cultural awareness and professional development outreach through visiting schools. On this trip, you will experience the successes and struggles that teachers in developing nations face every day as you work with students improving their English skills. Connecting to classrooms not only promotes cultural understanding but also provides motivation - to all of the participants - to share & learn more. While aimed at educators, we welcome trip participants from all vocations to share their experience. For more information email “Send me Trip Info” to: schools@opportunityeducation.org