Connect students globally on PenPal Schools to collaborate and learn together
Community Review for PenPal Schools
My Take
This website is a great teaching tool because it offers broad lesson plans that are being completed similarly in other classrooms so students can collaborate globally with other students. There are currently less than 50 lesson plan options on the website, but there is a large enough variety to be able to introduce this collaborate type of lesson at least a few times throughout the school year. Each lesson states how many other "active PenPals" are currently working on each. Connecting with students all over the World create an interesting learning environment for the students and also helps students get a better understanding of different cultures and environments that they would not usually be exposed to.
How I Use It
PenPal Schools blends global citizenship and collaboration with skills and standards required for 3rd-12 grade students. Students are able to incorporate their current curriculum with cultural and global interaction with students their age all around the World. This website offers prepared, collaborative lesson plans which allow the classroom to connect with students/classrooms that are working on the same lesson. There is also an option to create a custom lesson plan. This is nice to have as an option, but the prepared lesson plans make this website such an easy and useful tool for a teacher to introduce a new and interesting lesson that is well thought out and that other classroom are doing in the exact same way.