Bird Middle School Students Connect Globally

Students in Ms. Ekholm's and Ms. Carresi's ELA skills class have begun a pen pal project with students in other parts of the world. Sixth grade students in ELA Skills classes are practicing their grammar and writing skills by communicating through a program called epals.com. EPALS allows teachers and students to collaborate with classrooms in countries such as Turkey, Italy, Serbia and Greece.
When introduced to the project, the sixth grade students were very enthusiastic. They were excited to communicate and learn about children their age in other countries. Bird Middle School students have been matched up with students in their age and grade level and have already begun corresponding though EPALS. Epals allows teachers to monitor the emails between students and also gives teachers ideas for collaborative projects. Through this technology, students are able to connect globally in a protected, project-based learning network.