5th Grade Goes to Guatemala

Today Hollywood Elementary connected to four children in Guatemala. Students on both side shared what they like to do, their age and grade level, and their favorite activities. One student at Hollywood showed his pet guinea pig, Squeaks, which caused many giggles on both sides of the connection! After taking turns introducing themselves, kids at each side asked each other questions such as what is your favorite music, favorite sports, and favorite holidays.

One of the things that was hard for the Hollywood students to understand was how two of the kids in Guatemala don't go to school. One boy works in the field with his father growing spinach, and the another girl works with her mother sewing and baking tortillas to sell. They asked several questions to understand the poverty. They also learned about the dresses that are worn to represent the various communities in Guatemala. Each town/community has it's own special style of dress.

Students in Guatemala asked, What do you eat? What are your favorite colors? What kinds of jobs do people do there?

Students also planned to continue the conversation via email after the connection.

So... why should we connect to students in other places....? How else can students really understand cultures and how people live in different areas? How else will they gain an understanding of the world around them and realize the responsibilities that come with privilege?