How To Travel The World From Your Classroom

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It’s no secret that traveling is an act of education in itself. Traveling can change our perspective and make us aware of different cultures. Unfortunately, due to the current state of the world, traveling has been limited for most of us, forcing many people to take a staycation rather than a vacation.

However, this doesn’t mean you can’t explore the world from your classroom! Here are some ideas to inspire your students:

1. Feature international authors in your class planning

Whether you have suggested readings or include authors from all over the world in your lessons, this is a great way to introduce your students to different perspectives and encourage reading.

2. Introduce foreign films and TV shows

Another great way to help your classroom go global is by introducing foreign films and TV shows into your lessons. You could even take it a step further by having your students compare it to a similar movie or TV show from their own culture. Just remember to make sure they are age-appropriate for your group of students.

3. Visit a virtual museum

Classes adapting to an online learning environment offer the perfect opportunity to balance technology and children. While it’s essential to get classes back to normal, there are plenty of tools to enrich a kid’s educational experience. Many museums took it upon themselves to offer free virtual tours due to the pandemic. They are making it more accessible to visit some of the most famous museums worldwide from the comfort of everyone’s own home. The virtual visits are some great alternatives to help your students gain knowledge of art, history, and science.

4. Have an international day

Plan an international day with your students. This is an opportunity for your students to be creative and work individually or in groups to present a different culture to their classmates. Depending on their age group, students can include music, clothing, and traditional food items from the country they chose or were assigned.

5. Connect with a classroom overseas

There are plenty of resources for teachers to connect with classrooms around the world, as well as many options to add value to your lesson plans. You can choose to get involved in an international project with your students with educators, and students worldwide. Having an educator from another part of the world be a guest speaker in your classroom is another excellent option. With tools such as Skype, Zoom, Google Meets, amongst others, it’s even possible to have a live interaction with another educator and their group. Your students could also participate in a cultural package exchange, where two schools from different countries send various cultural items.