Just for Fun
Photo Š 2010 Beiersdorf Corporation
Schoolchildren in the Himalayan mountain range in India received new backpacks and school supplies from Plan and its partners.
Storyboards and Comic Strips Goal: Participants tell stories or share information about their community without using words. Standards: English – Applying Language Skills Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information). Activity Length: 30 minutes Materials: Paper, markers, and pencils Activity: Both linking groups decide on a common theme. Examples include: the school day, home, future jobs, the city, lending a hand, leadership, saving the planet, diversity, just for fun, etc. Participants each get one blank piece of paper. Fold the paper into eighths. Participants should create a story by creating a scenario throughout the eight boxes. One box should lead directly to the next box. Try to convey the message without using any words. The facilitator will scan the images so that they can be emailed to the linking partners, or send them in the mail. Questions for Participants to Consider: What were the difficulties of not being able to use words in your storyboards? What were the benefits? What message did you want to convey throughout your storyboard? Why did you think it was important to share that message? What did you learn from the storyboard you received from the linking partners?
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Email Chain Goal: Participants collaborate with linking partners through email. Standards: English – Multicultural Understanding Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles. English – Applying Language Skills Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information). Activity Length: Ongoing Materials: Internet Activity: The group should decide on three themes they would like to use for a story to provide insight into one or multiple aspects of their culture. Send ideas to the linking partners and they can choose which theme of the three they like best. A participant in your group will begin the story with “Once upon a time…” and then write the first paragraph of a story. Then he/she will send it to a participant in the linking group. A participant abroad will then write another short paragraph and send it back to your group. The back-and-forth writing continues until everyone has participated. Make sure the last few people bring the story to a meaningful close! Afterward, participants should take turns reading the story in class. As an additional activity, each participant can create an illustration of the story to share with the linking partners online. Questions for Participants to Consider: What did you take away from this experience? What were the challenges of collaborating with your classmates or your peers abroad? How was this different than how you usually use email? What other ways can you use email to collaborate with people around the world?
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Movin’ and Groovin’ Goal: Participants share the art of dance with their linking partners. Standards: Dance – Demonstrating and Understanding Dance in Various Cultures and Historical Periods Students competently perform folk and/or classical dances from various cultures; describe similarities and differences in steps and movement styles. Students competently perform folk, social, and/or theatrical dances from a broad spectrum of 20th-century America. Students learn from resources in their own community (such as people, books, videos) a folk dance of a different culture or a social dance of a different time period and the cultural/historical context of that dance, effectively sharing the dance and its context with their peers. Students accurately describe the role of dance in at least two different cultures or time periods. Activity Length: Varies Materials: Video camera Activity: Choose a dance or part of a dance to share with your peers abroad. You can choreograph your own dance or choose a dance that you already know. Create a short video of the dance performance (3-8 minutes). If you can, add an extra section at the end of the video to teach some of the dance steps to the linking partners. Remember to go slowly and repeat the steps a few times. Make sure to include a description of the dance and why you chose to share it. Upload the video to the S2S site to share with the linking partners. Questions for Participants to Consider: What is the history of this dance? How popular is it? Does it have a cultural significance? When and where would people participate in such a dance? What are you wearing while dancing? What does this say about your culture? Can this dance be performed to any type of music or does it belong with a specific song or genre?
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My Playlist Goal: Participants share meaningful music with their linking partners. Standards: Music – Listening to, Analyzing, and Describing Music Students describe specific music events (e.g., entry of oboe, change of meter, return of refrain) in a given aural example, using appropriate terminology. Students analyze the uses of elements of music in aural examples representing diverse genres and cultures. Students demonstrate knowledge of the basic principles of meter, rhythm, tonality, intervals, chords, and harmonic progressions in their analyses of music. Activity Length: 30 minutes Materials: Audio file and the Internet Activity: Choose one of your favorite songs to share with the linking partners. Make sure that it has no bad language or inappropriate themes. Participants should share with the linking partners what they think the song says about their culture. o What does the song talk about? o What genre of music does it fall into and what does that say about the song? o What instruments or musical techniques are used? o Who is the artist/group and what is their story? o Are there certain phrases used or topics discussed that shed light upon your culture? o In what ways does the song not represent your culture? o How do you think this music is similar to or different from to the music your linking partners listen to in their country? Upload the song onto the S2S website and share your analysis with the linking partners. Ask them for their own feedback on the song. Questions for Participants to Consider: Why do you think music has always been such an important way to communicate culture? What does it express? Has music’s role changed in society with advances in technology? How will music evolve in the future?
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Once Upon a Time… Goal: Participants collaborate with their linking partners on a short story. Standards: English – Reading for Perspective Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works. English – Understanding the Human Experience Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience. Activity Length: 1 hour Materials: Computer Activity: Choose a cultural theme that you would like to highlight for the linking partners (sports, food, holidays, etc.). Write a short fictional story in which you explain the meaning or cultural significance of your theme. Keep the story to one page and be mindful that your peers abroad might not speak English as their first language. Send the story to the linking school and invite your peers to create an accompanying illustration to send back to you. Then reciprocate and illustrate a picture for a story that they write. Put the stories and illustrations together into a book for an S2S keepsake. Questions for Participants to Consider: Why did you choose to write about your specific theme? Why did you think it was an important cultural theme to explain? What were the challenges of writing the story to students who might not speak English as their first language? What did you learn about the culture of the partner country from the stories your peers shared with you?
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On the Playground Goal: Participants share a game or group activity from their culture. Standards: English – Applying Language Skills Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information). Activity Length: 30 minutes Materials: Pen and paper or computer Activity: Each student is challenged to think of a game or activity that he or she would like to share with the linking partners. These can include singing games, clapping games, games played at recess (such as tag, kickball, or hide-and-seek), card games, magic tricks, jump rope, sports, etc. Write very detailed step-by-step instructions of the game. Be sure to include materials needed, the duration of the game, and any other important information. Also include a description of when and where the game is usually played, along with any special cultural significance. Include an illustration or photos if you would like. Send the games to the linking partners online or in the mail. Be sure to ask them if they have ever played variations of the games you sent them. Questions for Participants to Consider: What materials are needed for your game? Are they available universally? Do they cost money? What could be used as substitutes? What is the origin of your game? Did you create it or does it have a history in your society? Do any of the games the linking partners submitted resemble games you have played? How are they similar or different?
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Create Your Own Activity Activity Name: _________________________________________________ Goal: ________________________________________________________ Standards:____________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________
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Questions to Consider:
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______________________________________________________ Once finished, email your activity to Plan International USA at s2s@planusa.org. We will share the activity with other linking groups, and might even include in our next S2S Activity Guide!
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