---

Holiday Card Exchange Project

Teachers and students prepare an envelope with holiday cards to send to the other participants between October - December. Students may send Chinese New Year, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Eid greeting cards or cards that show local celebrations during December or January. Each school will be placed in a group with approximately seven other schools and will prepare either handmade or purchased cards (decorations may be included) to send to each of the other schools.

---

Learning Circles

iEARN Global Learning Circles are highly interactive, project-based partnerships among a small number of schools located throughout the world. There are two sessions each year, September - January and January - May. Learning Circles join together a group of five to six schools on one of the following themes:

Computer Chronicles: Promotes writing across the curriculum. Interaction online revolves around producing a newspaper called The Computer Chronicles. Each class has the opportunity to sponsor one or more sections of the newspaper as their Learning Circle project.

Places and Perspectives: Encourages students to explore regional history, culture, government, and geography by sharing their knowledge with people from different locations.

My Hero: A joint venture between Learning Circles and the My Hero project. This Circle will bring together students and teachers who are interested in collaborating with other schools from diverse areas of the world on the topic of My Hero through writing, photography, and digital video. See more Information.

My Hero: A Call To Action:  An advanced level mulit-media project for teachers and students who are interested in putting the principles of the My Hero project into action. Students and teachers will explore the use of the My Hero multi-media page.  Several training sessions about making a short film will be offered.

Our Rivers, Our World:  Encourages students to explore the role their local rivers play in their daily lives.  They will learn about the historical and present day uses for the rivers, the river life, and the quality of the water.  Students will share their findings through writing, photos and videos that they create throughout the project.

My City and Me: A social, cultural and environmental project where students will explore what they can do to improve their life in the place they live, so they can be active members of their communities. Through online discussions and collaborative project work students will learn more about local governments and identify what they do for their territory as youth. These may include participating in social and environmental projects. Students will also create projects that share the cultural part of their life in the city.

Early People Symbols Project: Elementary and Middle School students will explore the meanings of their cultural symbols. They will start by doing research (Internet, local libraries, museums, art books, and artifacts such as rugs, wall, ceiling, floor drawings, pictographs, etc.) in their communities. Then, they will briefly tell the story related to the symbol using journals, Voice Threads, PowerPoint Presentations, videos or digital photos.  Students are also invited to create a drawing or painting using these symbols.

Global Issues (Environment): Allows students to discuss a broad range of environmental social, political, and economic issues with concern and affect the Earth's entire population. Projects will focus on identifying and developing solutions for the countless issues that face the Earth's inhabitants. This curriculum encompasses many subject areas including sociology, science, government, history, and economics.

Global Issues (Education): Allows students to discuss a broad range of social, political, and economic issues concerning current issues that affect education throughout the world.  Projects will focus on identifying and developing solutions for the countless issues that face local, national, and global education.  This curriculum may encompasses traditional educational subject areas as well as cross-curriculum areas of interest.

---

Ositos de Peluche

Un proyecto colaborativo, desarrollado a través de email, para los chicos de todo el mundo.

Ositos de Peluche es un proyecto colaborativo de alcance internacional que fue ideado por la profesora australiana Muriel Wells miembro de la red iEARN Australia (http://www.iearn.org.au) en 1996 y que tiene gran aceptación en aulas de nivel inicial y primer ciclo de nivel primario. A lo largo de los años, participaron del proyecto escuelas de países entre los que se incluyen Alemania, Argentina, Australia, Canadá, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dinamarca, Ecuador, Escocia, Eslovenia, España, Estados Unidos, Estonia, Guatemala, Inglaterra, Irlanda, Letonia, Lituania, Nueva Zelanda, Rumania, Rusia, Sudáfrica, Suecia y Turquía, entre otros.

El proyecto busca fomentar la comprensión entre culturas diferentes y estimular la escritura creativa. Una vez que el docente a cargo del aula se registra y completa un formulario de inscripción un facilitador lo hermana con otra clase para que trabajen juntas. Una vez armada la pareja, cada aula envía a la otra un Osito de Peluche (físico) adquirido o fabricado por docentes, alumnos y/o familiares en una caja a través del correo postal. Usualmente los grupos de alumnos visten al osito con ropa típica de su país o ciudad e incluyen souvenirs para los alumnos y docentes (por ejemplo: llaveros, imanes, golosinas). Cada clase le pone un nombre a su osito, por ejemplo: Timoteo, Francisco, Teddy, etc. Así el osito inicia un viaje de placer y se convierte en un visitante en el aula que lo recibe. Diariamente el osito lleva su diario personal escrito en primera persona en un blog o envía cartas a su grupo de origen contando sus vivencias y aventuras. El diario personal incluye fotografías, videos, audios, dibujos, comics y trabajos artísticos hechos por los alumnos. Una vez finalizado el viaje el osito de peluche vuelve a su lugar llevando regalos para su aula de origen.

---

Girl Rising - Education for All

1) Participants are encouraged to watch "Girl Rising" (or excerpted chapters at: Nepal Chapter http://youtu.be/Hk2Q7WLzn0s and Peru Chapter http://youtu.be/7P6nL7PXILw if the full DVD is not available) and, then have their students share their reflections after watching it by posting to the Girl Rising forum on iEARN.

[NOTE - Through a partnership with GCE-US (Global Campaign for Education - US), members of iEARN can contact the project facilitators to receive a copy of the movie DVD for free.

2) Students can also read the book "I am Malala" and "Girl Rising: Changing the World One Girl at a Time" and discuss the personal struggles to receive an education.  

3) As part of their discussions with other classes, students are encouraged to share ideas about what they can do to ensure that all girls and boys in the world have the right to a quality education. Discussion questions and suggestions for action steps are in the "About/Resources" section of this project.

4) Where possible, participants can arrange Skype video conferences and share their own learning and learn with each other.

* Another available resource is the “Lesson For All” curricula for k-3, 4-6 and high school, as well as a project-based learning module—all written by iEARN educators--that are free and downloadable at: http://campaignforeducationusa.org/pages/educational-curriculum.

---

Teddy Bear Project

This project is an international teddy bear exchange using email and/or web forums.

This project aims to foster tolerance and understanding of cultures other than your own. After teachers register, the facilitator matches you with a partner class. Once paired, classes send each other a Teddy Bear or other soft toy by airmail through the normal postal system.  The bear sends home diary messages by email or through the iEARN Teddy Bear Forum at least once a week. The students write the diary messages as if they are the visiting bear describing its experiences in the new culture. 

PLEASE NOTE: This project involves postal mailings, so participants are encouraged to plan ahead to estimate whether associated costs are within their budget.

---

Global Art: A Sense of Caring

The purpose of this project is to support youth to exchange digital photos/artwork and writing on the theme of caring.

Students in participating schools and communities write a story or a poem on his/her ideas of caring. Student then create an artwork according to the story. Students then design a class Service Learning project that demonstrates caring for others and take action to benefit their community.

Students use different mediums to produce artwork on the theme of caring. Students can also take digital photographs that show what they care about and how they care for one another and other living things in their schools, families, communities and world. Students will use these images along with text to create a PowerPoint or slide show for the story. Students share their completed projects with one another.

---

Local History Project

Local History is the history of our home places which can also include the history of our families, descriptions of traditions, country cuisine and folklore.

The Local History Project is a teacher-directed collaborative project in which students research the history of their communities and share their findings with their global peers. The Local History Project enables the youth and teachers to collaborate locally and globally using technologies to enhance learning and make a difference in their own communities and around the world.

The goal of the project:

• To teach students to care about the places they live, appreciate historical and cultural environment, to care and respect older generations, to understand and appreciate a historical heritage of the past and the present.
• To create background of their own history and enhance awareness of the significance of local history to students’ present lives.
• To develop research skills using a variety of sources such as interviews, letters, diaries, blogs and books.
• To form and develop academic skills, thinking, reasoning and teamwork skills.
• To form and develop key foreign language competencies and skills.
• To develop ICT skills.
• At the end of the projects students make a project board and present their project at school and share their ideas with their peers.

Students conduct research about the history of their local communities and then share their findings in the form of essays, power point presentations, art and photos in an on-line forum.

---

Heritage Around the World

Heritage Around the World is a project that enables students to share the heritage of their country. The project is open to all ages from primary to secondary school. The participants choose a topic relating to their country's heritage and illustrate the topic through descriptions, articles, films, videos, and audio documents.

The Heritage can include culture heritage, including architecture, stories, tales, oral traditions, dances, music, instruments, crafts, or natural heritage, such as endangered species, endangered water reserves, climate changes experienced during our lifetime, and any other topics of interest.

Previous topics included: the preservation of our oceans, rivers and access to clean water; species in danger of extinction and emblematic wild animals; traditional dishes and cooking; handicrafts, former trades, fashion and traditional clothes; educational progress and access to education for girls; landscapes and beauties of nature (coastlines, volcanoes, deserts); and arts and religious architecture (temples in India).

---

Solar Explorers

In the Solar Explorers project, students research alternative energy sources with a focus on solar energy, looking at the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7; and then design, construct and test a solar cooker as an example of alternative energy use and compare their results with other schools.

The project includes five main activities:

Activity 1: Introduction
Each school will write an introduction introducing their school, their city to other participants. 

Activity 2: Research
Students will look at the targets for Sustainable Goal 7 and research sustainable energy sources in their area with an emphasis on solar energy. 

Activity 3: Design and create a solar cooker

Activity 4: Using your solar cooker
Students will carry out two tasks to test the efficiency of the solar cooker, heating water and cooking food.

Activity 5: Evaluation of your solar cooker
How can your solar cooker be improved?

---

Finding Solutions to Hunger

Finding Solutions to Hunger is a project in which students of all ages begin to understand the root causes of hunger in the world and to take meaningful action for its elimination. Aligned with the second UN Sustainable Development Goal, to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, students of all ages, grade levels and English speaking/writing skills bring their strengths and ideas into collaboration with another to find solutions. 

Partnered with KIDS (http://www.kidscanmakeadiffere...), an educational program for students, teachers are provided with an optional series of adaptable activities and lessons. They are also supported with resources to create independent lessons of their own that best address the learning needs of their students.  To take action against hunger in the world, through understanding and action, is the ultimate goal. Building a network of collaboration, shared knowledge and service happens over time as students study the following concepts, among others, through reading, artistic expression, digital media and writing and reflecting.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

1. To deepen shared understanding of hunger and its root causes through shared reflections (factual, narrative, photo, art, music, video) on the project forum.
2. To determine the hunger needs of children and adults across differing cultures and  countries.
3. To take steps of action based on new knowledge to help eradicate hunger in communities  worldwide.
4. Publicize student understanding using whatever forms are best available for students in their different school communities.
5. Collaborate among students of all participating nations as they build a foundation of shared goals to end hunger.

---

Daffodils and Tulips

Students in different parts of the world plant bulbs at the same time and collect data on various parameters (latitude, longitude, sunlight, temperature, etc.), as well as track when they blossom. Classrooms around the world choose either Daffodil and/or Tulip bulbs to plant during the same week in November.  Students will be asked to collect temperature data throughout the experiment and report to the group – in addition they will report when the blooms appear and other data about the plant as it blooms. This project can be as involved or as simple as your class needs it to be.

---

My Identity, Your Identity Culture Project

In the My Identity, Your Identity Project, students are encouraged to explore and research the elements that form their identities. These elements include the traditions and the famous landmarks in their communities, which are parts of their cultures and identities. Students talk about the traditional celebrations they have and how they celebrate them, including the kinds of clothes they wear, they types of food they cook on those special days, and the styles of music they listen to. We want to help the students to fully realize the importance of their traditions that occur and the monuments that are located in their country. 

Many areas in the countryside still stick to the traditions, so students can go there and have interviews with their grandparents or any older people to ask them about the traditions followed while commemorating celebrations or feasts. Students will do something similar for historical monuments - they will visit them and take pictures with the information they got about those monuments. As you know, nowadays, we are imitating what is modern and fashionable and neglecting our traditions and consequently, we are losing our identity. Students also have the opportunity to mail cultural exchange packages full of cultural items to each other and participate in video conferences to speak and see one another.  

---

Talking Kites Around the World

Students make kites to fly as a massive tribute dedicated to advancing cultural and social dialogue, a symbol of bridging the gap and understanding the "other." This will hopefully become a continuous tradition of flying kites with personal and group images of our dreams for a better world, a world of co-existence, tolerance, acceptance of the "other" and peace or about children’s rights. Each participant will fly a kite with his or her thoughts, fears, dreams, and hopes. The project is dedicated to Janusz Korczak, who advocated for the rights of children.

Students will fly their kites on the March Equinox. Participants will send photos and films from the events. In 2017, kites were flown on and around March 21, 2017.  Project discussion starts in October leading up to the equinox event.  In this project students will learn about children' rights, learn about Korczak as a writer, and learn about Korczak's philosophy.  This Project is a space that promotes peace, respect, tolerance, the value of friendship, the importance of solidarity, awareness of the constructive resolution of conflicts and the search for harmony so that together we can contribute to a better world to live in. 

---

One Day in the Life

One Day in the Life is a project in which students exchange photographs/images describing days in their lives, and then make cross-cultural comparisons. Students may discuss aspects of a typical day (like visiting the market or going to school) or they may document special days (like vacations, birthdays, celebrations, or holidays.)

While writing is often an important component of student participation, English or Spanish proficiency is not required. Autobiographical documentary photography and video and other media (typically with accompanying explanatory text) are welcomed.