Global Trek

Read and learn about countries around the world, then share your thoughts, feelings, and opinions and share them with students from other nation and cultures.

With Classport, you can share your discoveries, thoughts, and feelings with classrooms around the world!

Here's how to get started:

	Review Global Trek
	Once you're familiar with this activity, go to Classport and join their online community.
	You'll be asked to set up a classroom profile. You can mention in your profile that you are interested in learning about the countries specifically mentioned in the Global Trek activity.
	Once you are a member of Classport, you can search for classrooms in other countries and contact them. Classport provides tools such as instant translation, so you can communicate easily even if you don't speak the same language!

Once you have a partner class, try these tips for learning together:

	Have an Exchange of Cultures Here's how:
	1. Have students read the provided background information on the country and its people. 2. As a class, have students compile a list of questions they would most like to ask members of the partner class. As your partner class to compile a similar list of questions for your class. 3. Send your partner class your list of questions, and answer the questions submitted to your class. 4. Exchange your answers and read through your partnering class's responses. Have a class discussion on what are similarities and differences between the two countries. Were there any answers that surprised you? Why? 5. Collect the best of these Question and Answer exchanges and email them to us here at Scholastic. We will post selected Q&As on Global Trek.
	Have Students Create Itineraries Here's how:
1.	Partner with a class in one of the Global Trek countries. Have students read the provided background information on the country and its people.
2.	Have each class have students research famous landmarks in their partnering class's city. These could include important cultural or civic buildings, art museums, religious institutions, memorials and statues.
3.	Have students create a touring itinerary of their selected landmarks for their partner class. For example, American students living in Los Angeles might suggest to a class in London to visit Big Ben and then the Tower of London. Meanwhile, the London students would have the Los Angeles class visit Mann's Chinese Theater and Paramount Studios.
4.	Once students have exchanged itineraries, each class will follow their respective itineraries collecting data on the landmarks, including historic background notes, touring information, even taking photographs and finding maps.
5.	Students can then share their experiences, notes, photographs, and findings with the partner class.
6.	Lead a discussion after the exchange. Questions might include: What landmark did the other class seem to like the most? Or the least? Was it possible to learn anything new about that landmark by seeing it through the eyes of a student from another country?