Our students must be prepared to compete in today's global society.

Even with all the

learning objectives we already have, there's room to help students become globally aware, to
realize that they're part of an interconnected society, and to learn how to navigate and
ultimately succeed in it. Global awareness is about working to understand a region’s
geography, resources, history, economy, religions, and languages in order to gain insight into
varying perspectives and ways of being and thinking around the world. Our students are part
of something larger than themselves, and an understanding of this could ignite the curiosity to
become culturally sensitive, responsible, and productive global citizens.

BECOME CONSULTANTS

Encourage students to learn about ecotourism. How and why are countries turning to
ecotourism? What are some of the most effective business models that hotels and tourist
attractions use? What could be done to make ecotourism even less harmful to the
environment? Which places in the world are ripe for ecotourism but haven’t shifted in that
direction? Connect your students with companies or tourism bureaus across the world. Let
students collect background information from these organizations, and then offer the
organizations free consulting. Task your students with improving and increasing ecotourism
by coming up with concrete ideas for the organizations to implement. Use Google Drive or
other collaboration tools to get students brainstorming and creating together.
CONNECT WITH NEW PEOPLE

Skype in the Classroom lets you connect with classrooms around the world for free. There are
tons of experts in a variety of fields who are willing to spend time talking to students.

EXPLORE A NEW PLACE

 
With the Google Field Trip app, students can use the map feature or search by area of interest
to find great places to explore. Let’s say your students are reading a novel and you want them
to learn about its setting in present day. Have students use the map feature to zoom in on the
location, and information "cards" will appear describing a variety of interesting sites, ranging
from museums and monuments to theme parks and "haunted" hotels. Structure this activity
by setting parameters for your students: Give them a geographical area you'd like them to
search, the number and types of places you’d like them to find, and how in-depth you'd like
their knowledge to be of each place.

Take field trips.

If possible, take your class on field trips that emphasize global perspective. These can include
museums, orchestra halls, concerts, and more.

Empower your students as leaders and teachers.

Rather than simply trying to teach about multiple cultures, give your students the opportunity
to teach other about their own cultures and perspectives. They know the stories. They know
songs. They can teach the alphabet of their language to the class. Remind your classroom that
global citizens teach, listen and learn from each other.

Organize pen-pals for your class.

Get your students to communicate with someone from another culture through a penpal. One-
on-one communication with someone their age from another culture can develop compassion
and understanding of other values.

Apply for grants.

I’ve gotten grants—such as a Fulbright grant—that allowed me to travel to other countries
and bring the information back to my students. After traveling to Japan and China, I
integrated the culture (in the forms of song, dance, food, books, history etc.) into an eight-
week period. I brought back mementos from my trip to share with my students. A great place
to start is to apply for the NEA Global Learning Fellowship.

Take time to reflect on the world around you.

Take some time once in a while to have a discussion with your students about what’s
happening in the world. Remind your students that just because we are not experiencing
certain things, does not mean they’re not happening around the world.

Volunteer.
You don’t need to go half way across the world to teach global perspective. Taking your
students to volunteer within your own community can teach lessons of civility and global
citizenship.  
Include a lesson on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In 2015, countries came together to create a set of 17 “Global Goals” to be achieved by 2030.
From poverty, to water and sanitation, to peace building and more, the SDGs demonstrate
what it means to be a global citizen—working together to contribute to the wider world
community. Walk through all 17 SDGs with your class, and talk about ways your class could
work together to achieve them!

Organize an International Week

If your school does not already have one, organize a school-wide “International Week.” Each
class can be responsible for bringing in food from a certain culture to be shared in the
cafeteria.

Teach culture through music.

Music and dance are great ways to engage students in other cultures. Every week, we have
“song time,” when we play music from other cultures and areas of the world. When our
students are global citizens, they are more empathetic, worldly, and understanding. But it’s
also important that we ourselves think as global citizens. With this way of thinking, we can
create a better world for their future.