Skyping with a Grade 5 Canada Class

Last Thursday, we had the opportunity to Skype with a Grade 5 class from Gretna, Manitoba,
Canada as a part of the Global Read Aloud.

In order to prepare for the Skype session, we brainstormed a list of questions about The One and Only Ivan that we would like to discuss. We also discussed what we would like to say to the students from Canada. We thought it was important to tell the students that we lived near Columbus, Ohio, that we are the class of 2012, and that Wickliffe is a progressive school.

The time finally came to Skype with Ms. Young's Grade 5 class. We were super excited to see the Skype call come through on our computer. We had fun introducing ourselves to the Grade 5 students.

They shared their class mascot with us, as well as taught us hand signals to use to show whether we agree or disagree with their questions.

We took turns asking questions back and forth and shared our learning and thinking about The One and Only Ivan.

We all thought it was great to have a chance to share our learning with a class in another country. It was interesting to us to learn that the Grade 5 students in Canada are already experiencing winter weather. They thought it was interesting that in Ohio it was still warm enough to wear shorts and t-shirts. We learned that most of the students in Ms. Young's class live on farms and it is not unusual for the students to have an hour ride to and from school. It was a wonderful experience and we are hopeful to connect with another classroom this week to discuss The One and Only Ivan. The students reflected on the Skype experience on their individual KidBlogs.