What does your classroom look like? How do you get to school each day? What’s for lunch?
The experiences of children across the U.S. and the world are very different – yet there are often underlying similarities that bind us together. Explore the resources below and share them with your students to start reflecting and discussing: why is school important? How does learning about a school help to reveal community values? What goals do you have for your school year? What do you take for granted about school and what would you like to change? Why is it important to know about school around the world?
Resources:
Documentary (available online from PBS): Wide Angle’s Time for School 3 http://video.pbs.org/video/1239934544/
Photo Series: Here’s What School Lunch Looks Like in 13 Countries Around the World
http://www.businessinsider.com/school-lunches-around-the-world-2014-5?op=1
Photo Series: Quiet at the back: classrooms around the world
http://www.theguardian.com/education/gallery/2012/sep/14/schools-around-the-world-children
Article: School Years around the World: From Australia to South Korea
http://www.factmonster.com/world/statistics/school-years.html
Photo Series: Back to School around the World
http://www.travelchannel.com/interests/family/photos/back-to-school-around-the-world
Infographic: Schooling around the World
http://elearninginfographics.com/schooling-around-the-world-infographic/
Graph: Where in the World are the Best Schools and the Happiest Kids?
http://www.coolinfographics.com/blog/2014/1/17/where-in-the-world-are-the-best-schools-and-the-happiest-kid.html
Books: Check your Library!
Off to Class: Incredible and Unusual Schools around the World by Susan Hughes
My Librarian Is a Camel: How Books Are Brought to Children Around the World by Margriet Ruurs
What the World Eats by Faith D’Alusio and Peter Menzel
One World, One Day by Barbara Kelley