Thanks to Shane Grundy, Edmonton Public Schools, for being willing to connect with our students who are learning about Canada.
Trinity Lutheran, St. Joseph, students started by introducing themselves, telling about their hobbies, places to visit and eat in the U.S., one thing that they didn’t know about Canada, and what they’d like to do if they could visit Canada.
This class has done videoconferencing before, and you can see the evidence in the preparation of students for the “getting to know you” part. The little paragraphs are written on note cards and students shared some neat personal connections. I let the students use the remote and the document camera controls this time. They did a great job paying attention and switching the camera as appropriate.
It was neat and very affirming for the students here to hear the reaction to their presentation.
Then the class in Edmonton shared a PowerPoint and groups shared presentations about several important topics about Canada including government, inventions, geography, and more.
All of these interactions include the favorite question and answer time. Here’s a couple highlights:
- Here’s an interesting fact. The students in their school can choose French or Punjabi as their second language to study.
- In a discussion of national parks, the students here said “take me with you!!!” when referring to Banff National Park. One of the Edmonton students said, “We’ll bring you in through the screen and you can come with us.” Lots of laughter!
This was the last of a series of point to point connections we’ve had with our local middle school students who are studying about Canada. We look forward to scheduling even more of these next year!