Operation Senegal
From the moment I found out that I would be spending a week at Lycee de Diass in MBour, Senegal I began planning ways that students at my school in TN could connect and collaborate with students in Senegal. Many teachers, across all grade levels and subjects, got involved and I am pretty amazed at what was accomplished in just 3 weeks. Here are some examples of the activities…and of what is in my suitcase :).
Second graders made Memphis brochures—As part of their unit on Memphis history, second grade students worked in pairs to create a travel brochure for the city. They include information about famous Memphis musicians, the city’s role in the Civil Rights Movement, and fun tourist destinations among other things. I am taking these with me and cannot wait to share them with my students in Senegal.
French students wrote postcards and created videos—Middle and Upper School French classes wrote letters to a “pen pal” in Senegal. I was able to get class rosters from my host teacher, Moustapha Fall, so they were paired with a student that I will teach during my field placement. While I am there, I will have the students write letters back. They also created videos of popular songs for me to share. What an awesome way for SGIS students to practice their French!
Elementary Music Classes are learning a Senegalese song—Elementary students are learning to sing Sunu Societe’ which is a popular Senegalese song in Wolof. I have a second grader and he has been singing it around the house for the last few days.
Media, Marketing, and Design students created original videos and infographics—The topics of their videos range from Memphis Food to A Day in the Life of a Student. Their infographics are great visual representations of religion in America, St. George’s by the numbers and popular American culture.
AP Psychology students Skyped with the English Club—After a discussion of social norms, one of the AP Psych classes had the chance to skype with English Club members at Lycee de Diass. Favorite topics included music, food, sports, and future plans.
Government Students authored book on the branches of government—Working in groups, government students created books on the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of government since my Senegalese students will be learning about the government of the United States. They are creative and full of visuals and illustrations.
Students from a variety of grades made bookmarks—Students colored bookmarks and many have their favorite book on one side and something related to Memphis or St.George’s on the other. I plan to give them to students and leave a stack of them in their English Club room where they are trying to build a library of books in English.
AP World History and AP Psych students are using Flipgrid to connect---They created videos in my Flipgrid classroom and they are already receiving response videos from students in Senegal. It has been so fun to watch the exchanges.
I cannot wait to share all of these wonderful projects with my host teacher and students in Senegal and there are also many other things in the works for my time there. I hope that our connection will last well beyond my two week trip.