This morning Bridgman Elementary is connecting to Wales in the UK for a project that was written in the Jazz workshop this summer: Guess My Pet. Before the videoconference started, I noticed the teachers using best practice to set presets on their visuals (which were neatly mounted to hold them still). Nice to see Jazz lessons being put into practice.

Each class had little introductions ready to share to get to know each other and where they are. Then the classes began sharing the clues about their pets. Everyone took notes on the clues; then the classes muted for a while to guess. here are some examples of the clues:

• It’s got long or short hair.
• It makes a squeaking noise.
• It lives in a cage.
• It runs on a wheel.

After guessing, the classes shared pictures and facts about their pets. The classes also shared a graph of what types of pets they have represented in their class.

We had a few technical glitches along the way, but overall the students enjoyed the process, practiced their reading, listening, and presenting skills, and got to know students in another country! The classes plan to continue the partnership with pen pal letters between students.