Global Collaboration with Zimbabwe is Underway!

These last few weeks of 6th grade are going to be exciting!  We've started our Global Collaboration Course through Level Up Village (LUV) based on themes related to Lois Lowry's The Giver with The Anderson School in Gweru, Zimbabwe.  I wrote and piloted the course this time last year, so this is my second go-round!

In addition to getting to know one another and discussing the themes of the book, students explore their own personal idea of Utopia as well as research real-world issues that we have in the United States, the effects of those issues, and possible solutions.  Meanwhile, our global partners are doing the same thing!

Here's the course description from Level Up Village's website:
"Students read and discuss Lois Lowry’s The Giver alongside students in a global partner classroom. Together through video letter exchange, they discuss the impact of societal rules and cultural norms on individual free will, while determining whether Lowry is presenting readers with a utopian or dystopian society. Students and their partners research and discuss possible solutions to one of the central issues of The Giver, such as war, hunger, gender roles, access to education, racism and ageism, as well as problems facing each of their local communities."

Stay tuned for more about the exchange as it unfolds!

Here are pics of our background research on our global partners:



These are our posters answering the question "What does Utopia mean to you?"  We upload these to the LUV platform to share with our global partners.  We can't wait to see theirs!

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