Global Classrooms Cantabria

2.2.2009-2.6.2009/ Ria del Carmen

2009-02-04T11:46:00.003+01:00

Hello everyone! We are working on the rough drafts of our position papers this week. We are trying to have final position papers turned in by next Monday and Tuesday. We have been following the position paper outline for the papers, and we have practiced presenting the first and second paragraphs of our position papers so we can get used to speaking in English in front of an audience. We have completed the most important information on our country information sheets. Our position papers are pretty short, so our speeches for the formal debate will most likely be very similar to our position papers. Next week we will begin working with the process for writing resolutions, and we will learn key vocabulary important for drafting resolutions. I made a power point on the problems that cause threats to indigenous populations, but it won't upload, so let me know if you'd like me to email it to you. Would it be possible to meet next Monday or Tuesday to compare the three best position papers? It would be nice if they were all up to about the same standard, length, and quality.

Best,

Chelsea Stone

cns2@lehigh.edu

2.2.09 - 2.6.09 / Miguel Herrero

2009-02-03T16:10:00.004+01:00

Hi everyone!

Currently my students are working on their position papers. I gave them a Position Paper Outline to work from. Hopefully they will turn in "final" drafts by Tuesday of next week. I have also prepared a Global Classrooms Conference Speech Outline for them to use and that will also be due a little later on. Next week we will go over the resolution format and vocabulary words using the UN Resolution Handout I have made and also have a practice conference in our Salon de Actos.

We´re almost there! Animo!

Olivia

1.26.9 - 1.30.9 Lope de Vega

2009-01-27T19:54:00.002+01:00

Hi all,

Today, we went over the scheme of a position paper again and the students now need to write a rough draft of their papers by next Tuesdsay. The scheme we used for the position papers can be found here. In the afternoon sessions, we held a very successful debate about smoking. The students really responded and participated well and followed the protocol in a very organized manner. This is progress that we enjoyed seeing. Next week, we expect to begin on resolution writing and I will attempt to give them tips on how to give a speech. Until then...

1.19.09 - 1.23.09 / IES Villajunco

2009-01-26T10:02:00.004+01:00

Hello everyone! A quick update from IES Villajunco...

We are in the midst of preparing the position papers. I prepared a worksheet (POSITION PAPERS) that broke down the idea into 5 paragraphs, each with a question or two to get the kids started.

It´s been met with mixed success. My students have never written a persuasive essay in Spanish or English nor have they seriously studied the past tense. As such, it has been difficult to explain the past actions their countries have taken. Some countries have been unsure of what to write, particularly when their countries do not have an explicit indigenous population (e.g. Azerbaijan). Articulating realistic proposals (for anything other than money, etc) has been particularly challenging. We´ve been trying hard to create education, health and development-related proposals.

Given this, I have been working country by country to make sure the students stay on track. it´s taken me about a week or so to get through all my groups. The students now have (very rough) drafts of their PPs and I think it´s going well.

The next step will probably be to refine their resolution writing and work on pronunciation in their speeches. I will also post a couple drafts of PPs once they are ready.

Although challenging at times, it´s been wonderful to help students learn so many key skills. Hope you find this info helpful!

-Kelsey from Villajunco

FMB Meeting with María - Recap

2009-01-26T09:51:00.003+01:00

Hello all!

I just wanted to include a recap from the meeting we had with María. A few takeaway points (although there were many insights!)

Tentative conference structure (approximate)

930 - 10: Arrival and check-in
10 - 11: Introduction and posssible key speaker
11 - 2: Session I
2 - 3: Working lunch
3 - 5: Session II
5 - 6: Closing ceremony; awards

Conference Awards

Best Position Paper (1 per school)
6 Honorable Mentions for the delegates
Best School Delegation (1 per school)

Training and Staffing

Glenda may come in earlier (Feb 16/17) to assist us in conference training for the TAs and involved teachers/staff. We also discussed the idea that perhaps other TAs at our school (e.g. Ministerio de Educación auxiliares) could perhaps help as note runners on the day of the conference.

Positions at the conference

Chair
Director of Committee
Rapporteur
Lead Assistants (the exact name escapes me)
MC (not a Fulbrighter)

Please feel free to add what I missed. Hope this is helpful to everyone! A big thanks to María for getting all the conference details sorted out!

-Kelsey

1.19.2009 - 1.23.2009 / IES Villajunco

2009-01-19T13:25:00.007+01:00

Observing the Indigenous Exhibit

Learning about the challenges indigenous peoples face

At the Indigenous Exhibit and Film Screening

Indigenous people lecture at the Fundación Marcelino Botín

A Global Classrooms exercise at IES Villajunco

Happy 2009 from IES Villajunco and thank you all very much for posting. I wanted to add a couple photos from our GC exercises and the oustanding tour and talk hosted by the Fundación Marcelino Botín.

Enjoy!

1.19.2009 - 1.23.2009 / Lope de Vega

2009-01-19T00:36:00.002+01:00

Hi all,

I hope I do this right and that you all can see my adjustments. At Lope de Vega, Luis and I have done several powerpoint presentations that might be useful to the rest of the group. The two that I think are most relevant at this point are about the Huaorani indigenous population in Ecuador and the Mapuche indigenous people in Chile. You can see these presentations here. They are titled "NZ - Ecuador Indigenous Presentation" and "NZ - Chile Indigenous Presentation," respectively.

In regard to in-class debates, we have already had one on the topic of school uniforms and are currently planning another on the topic of smoking.

This week, we plan to start on position papers and will try to develop a study guide or helpful research tool for the students. More on that next time if all goes well.

1.11.2009 - 1.17. 2009 / Valle de Camargo

2009-01-15T16:48:00.004+01:00

Hello Everyone!

Our school has dedicated a small amount of time to work specifically on Global Classrooms, so we have to be really creative on how to use our time. To do this, we use some of the time in English not dedicated to Global Classrooms by creating reading comprehension exercises (using key terms or subject matter they are covering that day) that have a connection to the United Nations or indigenous people. For example we have a biography of Ban Ki Moon that changes from talking in the present to the past tense. We also made indigenous reading 1 and indigenous reading 2 , which focus on verbs in their present tense. This is just one way that we are able to complete their regular english course and incorporate Global Classrooms at the same time.

-Roberto-

12.15.08 - 12.19.08 / Miguel Herrero

2008-12-17T10:57:00.002+01:00

Hi all! First, gracias Kelsey for putting this blog together. It looks sweet. So my kids have been working on understanding the rules of procedure through doing mock debates in class. I am in the process of distilling this Model UN Glossary into basic terms for them to have a cheat sheet to learn from. Also, I have made a Speech Outline for them to fill out and this is what we used in our last debate of the semester. My goal for the first few weeks of January is to go over the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (plain language version) and begin writing our position papers. We have yet to go over over the resolution vocab.

Enjoy the holidays! I hope we can all meet up and check on our progress in January.

Olivia

12.01.08 - 12.05.08 / IES Villajunco

2008-12-04T13:36:00.004+01:00

Above are three video clips of Global Classrooms from IES Villajunco. Hopefully it will help you get a sense of what the level of English is, as well as how we arrange the class for GC activities. I didn't have a microphone, so you might need to turn the volume up on your computer. Enjoy!

-Kelsey from Villajunco

11.24.08 - 11.28.08 / IES Villajunco

2008-12-01T12:01:00.006+01:00

IES Villajunco has decided to approach GC from the country´s perspective first. After learning a bit about the country and debate rules, we plan to move further into human/indigneous rights.

Here´s a look at what we´ve done so far. Attached are:

A country worksheet (created to get the kids familiar with researching their own countries and the concept of research)
A debate and expression worksheet (we are still working on implementing the impersonal/third person type of speech)
A procedure worksheet (it´s long, but Villajunco students have found it a useful reference)

In order to view the worksheeets, you will need to access the following website (and provide the password). Click here.

I have posted many worksheets here in order to ¨catch us up¨ to this date. Hope this is helpful!

-Kelsey from IES Villajunco

Welcome!

2008-12-01T11:22:00.003+01:00

Welcome to the Global Classrooms Cantabria blog!

At a recent meeting, the need to share materials was discussed. We decided the best way to share large files like worksheets, presentations, and media would be a blog. As such, this blog was created so we can share these materials.

In order for this blog to be a meaningful forum, it is imperative that each school regularly upload material. Please write on our Blogspot every week or every second week.

How to format:
Please put the dates of the week / your school. For example...
11.17.08 - 11.21.08 / IES Villajunco

To log into Blogspot, use the password and email I sent each of you on December 5th, 2008. To upload Word files, please post your file on the dumoulinsmith server and add a link to Blogspot. Please discuss with your TA or Kelsey Price if you encounter difficulties with Blogger.

Thanks to the Consejería de Educación del Gobierno de Cantabria , Fundación Marcelino Botín, the Fulbright Commission, UNA-USA, Global Classrooms, and the five participating institutes!