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Bring the World to Them

Bring the World to Them. Finding and Using Partner Classrooms to Enhance Communication. Where to get started…. www.epals.com. How to “catch” a perfect match….

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Bring the World to Them

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  1. Bring the World to Them Finding and Using Partner Classrooms to Enhance Communication

  2. Where to get started… www.epals.com

  3. How to “catch” a perfect match… Hello! My name is Megan Iranpour and I teach French at Lexington Catholic High School in Lexington Kentucky. Lexington is a pretty big city with about 300,000 citizens. Kentucky is well-known throughout the USA for it’s horses and the famous Kentucky Derby. We are pretty close to Cincinnati, Louisville, and Chicago. I have a class of 20 students, ages 15-16 who are interested in writing letters and e-mails in French and English. We would also be interested in using a blog to communicate and possibly exchanging videos. Does this interest you? Write this in L2

  4. L1 or L2? Come up with a game plan. • Think about your learning goals BEFORE you contact potential partners. • Are your students just beginning to study the language? Perhaps your goal will be to build cultural competence through exchanging letters in English. • Writing letters half in English, half in L2 allows students to practice a variety of skills. • Having upper level students write solely in L2 and receive letters solely in English helps them to understand many of the errors that English learners make and to better understand their own errors.

  5. COMMUNICATE exactly what you do and don’t want

  6. Letters vs. e-mail • I like to start with letters. I tell my partners that I want to exchange at least 2 letters and then use e-mail. • They’re safe and harmless and contain no contact information. • Students can see different paper & handwriting. • Students can include photos and small trinkets. • Plus letter day is always EXCITING! • Be ready to pay around $20 for postage.

  7. Making the Match I have my students for several years in a row so I know them very well. I like to have my partner school write the first letter or fill out a questionnaire so that I can make the matches. • Consider AGE first • Make sure parents are aware and agree • Decide beforehand if students will be allowed to exchange personal e-mails & Facebook/MySpace information

  8. Other Considerations… • Study the area where your penpals live. • A personal letter can be used in the Kentucky Writing Portfolio as a content-area piece. • Follow up with authentic assessments and ORQ’s.

  9. BEYOND LETTERS A Slideshow about your home town

  10. BEYOND LETTERS A Video about your school

  11. BEYOND LETTERS A Video about your school

  12. BEYOND LETTERS A Wiki about Specialty Foods

  13. BEYOND LETTERS An Exposé about Teen Fashion

  14. BEYOND LETTERS An Exposé about Teen Fashion

  15. BEYOND LETTERS A Time Capsule

  16. Good Luck! http://staff.fcps.net/tlambert Click on the KWLA logo

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