Resource Details
Critical Thinking Skills and Developmental Assets
Through this resource students will:
- Gain critical thinking skills, including problem solving, analyzing information, and working effectively with others.
- Learn about their own cultural identity and develop skills to understand cultural differences.
- Understand the interdependence between humans and the environment, and among living organisms through gathering, analyzing and recording examples.
Lesson Structure
Connecting Students to the World lessons include reading and writing components, group work, and activities that get students out of their seats and engaged in learning. The activities appeal to a range of learning styles in order to reach all learners. Each of the four units in this guide contains the following components:
- multiple hands-on lessons with step-by-step instructions
- correlations to national education standards
- vocabulary
- critical thinking questions
- suggested additional resources
- service learning project ideas
Connecting Students to the World lessons can be used alongside Endangered Species, Empowered Communities (ESEC), a children’s book series by Dot-to-Dot Children’s Books. Each of the eight books was written with the help of young women and children in countries around the world. Proceeds from book sales will benefit nonprofit series contributors working in these countries.
If you want to learn more about the countries featured in the books, background information is provided in an Appendix at the end of this guide. Information is also provided about nonprofit organizations working in each country, along with ideas for how students can support their work.
Units
Unit 1: Biodiversity & the Natural World
In this series of four activities, students
explore the concept of needs versus wants. Through a
kinesthetic game, students come to understand how
organisms in an ecosystem are connected by their particular
needs. The game allows them to experience firsthand the
differences between an ecosystem with high biodiversity
and one with low biodiversity. In a closing activity,
students categorize a variety of ecosystems by their level
of biodiversity.
Stories from Dot-to-Dot Children’s Books can be used to
illustrate how two endangered species—tigers and snow
leopards—are part of two very different ecosystems.
Unit 2: Humans & the Environment
In the first of three activities, students
consider how everyday items like water and wooden blocks
are made from materials in nature. During a nature walk,
students identify both natural and human-made materials
and consider how humans impact our environment and why
it is important to protect natural resources.
Stories from Dot-to-Dot Children’s Books can be used to
illustrate how two different endangered species—mountain
gorillas and sea turtles—are affected by human behavior.
Unit 3: Culture & Diversity
The first of four activities in this unit
helps students to develop a definition of culture
by viewing a variety of cultural images. During a
kinesthetic activity, students explore their commonalities
and differences. The unit closes with students
interviewing each other to learn more about their own
culture and the cultures of other students in the class.
Stories from Dot-to-Dot Children’s Books can be used
to illustrate how our differences can be something
to celebrate. The stories also introduce students to two
endangered species: lowland tapirs and chimpanzees.
Unit 4: Responsibility & Teamwork
This series of three activities begins
with a role-play in which students work as a group to
devise rules to solve a problem. Students explore the
ideas of responsibility and teamwork by identifying
a problem at their school and determining how they
can solve the problem together.
Stories from Dot-to-Dot Children’s Books highlight
how teamwork can benefit individuals and groups.
The stories also introduce students to two endangered
species: Ganges river dolphins and elephants.
Educator Quotes about Connecting Students to the World
“Fabulous resource to support the teaching of content aligned with rigorous critical thinking and literacy-based skills. Also provides multiple opportunities for students to interact with challenging topics in meaningful ways.”
- Emma Graves, K-5 Literacy Consultant, OR and NY
“The topics are important, and tie directly into things we already teach (habitats, needs and wants, rules, and virtues like responsibility). The lessons are well designed with extensions for a variety of content areas, and scaffolded support for early learners (sentence frames, picture cards, etc).”
- Michal Friesen, 1st grade teacher, WA
“Promoting compassion for each other and care of the Earth, the new primary Facing the Future lessons teach basic sustainability relationships and principles in a context relevant to young children. Fabulous!”
- Lori Diefenbacher, Coordinator, Education for Global Sustainability graduate program, Webster University, Missouri
Professional Development
Facing the Future offers the following workshop to help you learn more about Connecting Students to the World:
Connecting Students to the World Webinar
This webinar will lead participants through using Connecting Students to the World to address important real-world issues in an age-appropriate way. Support your students in exploring a variety of environmental and social issues from around the world and guide them to seeing how they can be involved in solutions.
Speakers
To learn more about our webinars, please visit our Webinar page. If you are interested in scheduling a webinar, please contact us.
Connecting Students to the World Workshop
Learn about using Connecting Students to the World to build literacy skills, develop global competency, and promote interdisciplinary learning. Designed for for grades K-3 to engage young students in global issues and sustainability, Connecting Students to the World supports young students in seeing challenging ‘grown-up’ issues as opportunities to make a positive difference using the supportive medium of children’s literature. This workshop will lead participants through using Connecting Students to the World to address important real-world issues in an age-appropriate way. Support your students in exploring a variety of environmental and social issues from around the world and guide them to seeing how they can be involved in solutions. Lessons are complemented by suggested children’s books. This teaching resource will provide young students with the building blocks necessary to become future global citizens and change agents.
The lessons in Connecting Students to the World are aligned with language arts, science, and social studies educational standards in all 50 states. Lessons topics include:
- Ecosystems and biodiversity
- Human-environment interactions
- Culture and identity
- Responsibility and teamwork
The lesson plan guide provides age-appropriate instructional materials including:
- Engaging, hands-on lessons
- Detailed instructions
- Reflection question
- Action project ideas
- Print and web resources for further information
- Reproducible handouts
If you are interested in having Facing the Future present at your next event email or call us at 206-264-1503.
Additional Professional Development Opportunities
To learn more about our upcoming workshops, webinars, and conferences, please visit our Workshop Calendar. If you are interested in having Facing the Future present at your next, please contact us.