Activities
Fundraising/Grant Writing
Teachers should write grants to help supplement the cost of their chosen trip. To not burden the educator entirely, teachers should look to internal and external organizations to help them curate a well-thought-out proposal and submit it to multiple funders and foundations. It would help if you didn't aim for a single opportunity. Spread it out and plan a year.
Sample Itinerary -- Ecuador
Day 1: Students will travel to Ecuador and meet at the local hotel.
Day 2: The students will stop in Mitad and visit the Solar Museum. During that time, they’ll have a guided tour that will be in Spanish, a chance to learn about astronomy in the native language. That evening, they’ll travel to Los Bancos and have dinner together. Everyone will eat each meal together to build community while at the same time speaking as much Spanish as possible to continue to build their vocabularies.
Day 3: Travel to San Miguel del Laos Bancos. While there, they’ll take a walking tour and begin a service project. This project can be at school, senior citizens home, church etc. The idea is that students begin to build of sense of empathy, purpose and selfless. At the end of the day, they’ll have time for self-reflection on what they’ve learned. Every day will have a reflection time to review what they’d learned and be transparent on ways to make the next day even better.
Day 4: Next, they’ll take a guided tour of Nido de Vida. While there they’ll learn how to make sugar and how the ecosystem provides the necessary vegetation for this ingredient.
Day 5: Student will travel to Mirador Lojano for a service-learning project. Like the project before this will be based on what the local people need at the time. Hence, the type of learning project is subject to change based on their current need.
Day 6: Students will wake up and travel to the waterfall at "El Amor." They’ll then participate in another service-learning project before settling in Nido de Vida. Dinner will be served and they’ll eat with the locals who they worked on the project with earlier in the day.
Day 7: This day will start with a visit to The Tschila Museum followed by the last service-learning project. Students will then have a Farewell dinner where they’ll be able to reflect on their experience, talk about what they’ve learned and positive friendships/memories they’ve made. After dinner they depart for San Miguel de los Bancos to pack up.
Day 8: Finally, students depart for Quito and participate in a cultural activity with the native people. They then have dinner and depart for airport. (57)
Animals and Irwin
Day One-The teacher will create a handout with questions they feel are appropriate for their students’ grade level and reading level with questions that students research and find answers to. These questions should be open ended and allow for diversity in their answers. This should be timed. Once time has expired and everyone has completed the assignment, students should close their technology and begin to chat with their elbow partner about their findings. Next, the class should share-out.
Day Two- The teacher should show a few clips from Irwin, A: Biography B: montage with him with animals in the wilderness. C; an appearance on a late night/morning talk show d; a new real of the day he died E; clip from speakers giving words of respect during his funeral. Next, students should be able to tell what they’ve learned from the clips and his life.
Day Three- Students should use technology to write a the answer to three discussion questions: A- How did Irwin organize his efforts to change the world B- If I could compare Irwin’s impact and life to one person in history, who would it be and why? C- What can I apply from Irwin’s life to create change in the community/world I live in?
Dinner and a Movie
Students and their teacher will pick a day after school to watch “Gorilla’s in the Mist.” This is an opportunity to build relationships and relax a bit while continuing the learning process. Once the film ends there should be quick share-out about the movie and how it applies to what students have already learned.
Where in the World is “Carmen Sandiego?”
Teachers should present students with a short research project. The objective is to learn about a place in a foreign nation that has not yet been covered in class. Students will use technology to look up questions regarding A: Native Culture B: it’s local ecosystem and nature C: language and customs historical people, places and history D: social justice issues in the area; E: three things they’d like they’re classmates to know about this area of the world. F: Students should be able to point out this location on the map
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