Life Skills and Cultural Exploration to Open and Sharpen the Mind - Ongoing
In this ongoing class, your learner will have an opportunity to explore a diverse selection of topics that broaden their mind and instil a range of cultural, social, practical, and academic skills for executive functioning.
Shiminly
Average rating:
4.8
Number of reviews:(82)
What's included
1 live meeting
1 in-class hours per weekHomework
1 hour per week. Learners may be assigned a homework task related to the lesson. However, this task is for their own edification and is not mandatory.Class Experience
US Grade 7 - 8
Intermediate Level
------ About Us ------ 😊Welcome to Shiminly! Our name, ‘Shimin’ is Japanese for ‘citizen’. Our mission is to give learners the tools they need to become Global Citizens of the 21st Century. 🌍 We are dedicated to imbuing our students with the skills and tools they need to become empathetic, resilient, and well-rounded individuals. 🌟 Our facilitators are highly experienced, well-traveled, and trained to deliver our lessons using modern teaching methodologies, such as: 🧔 Socratic Method 💭 Inquiry-Based 🛠️ Problem-Based ✅ Task-Based 📚 Project-Based ------ Our Core Skills ------ We have built our curriculum around 7 Core Skills, which are: 💞 Emotional Intelligence 🧘♀️ Self-Awareness and Adaptability 🗣️ Teamwork and Communication 🌍 Global Citizenship 💡Creativity and Innovation 🧠 Critical Thinking 🌠 Motivation and Exploration ------ About This Class ------ 🤔 Does your learner like to learn about a variety of different topics? 🤔 Is your learner struggling to find something that interests them? 🤔 Would your learner benefit from honing their general skills? In this ongoing course, your learner will have the chance to learn about a variety of different topics while evenly honing each of our 7 Core Skills. Here is the topic list below with the corresponding skill focus: *Note: After all the topics have been completed, we will restart the topic list and new dates will be posted. Lesson 1: Young Scientists (Week starting Feb 26, 2024) Core Skill: Motivation and Exploration 🌠 Lesson 2: Counting Systems (Week starting Mar 4, 2024) Core Skill: Critical Thinking 🧠 Lesson 3: Cyberbullying (Week starting Mar 11, 2024) Core Skill: Emotional Intelligence 💞 Lesson 4: Introduction to Ethics (Week starting Mar 18, 2024) Core Skill: Self-Awareness and Adaptability 🧘♀️ Lesson 5: The Start of Human Rights (Week starting Mar 25, 2024) Core Skill: Global Citizenship 🌍 Lesson 6: English Around the World (Week starting April 1, 2024) Core Skill: Teamwork and Communication 🗣️ Lesson 7: Folk Tales (Week starting April 8, 2024) Core Skill: Creativity and Innovation 💡 Lesson 8: Natural Disasters (Week starting April 15, 2024) Core Skill: Motivation and Exploration 🌠 Lesson 9: Visiting an Art Gallery (Week starting April 22, 2024) Core Skill: Critical Thinking 🧠 Lesson 10: Taking Good Notes (Week starting April 29, 2024) Core Skill: Self-Awareness and Adaptability 🧘♀️ Lesson 11: Stress and Sports (Week starting May 6, 2024) Core Skill: Emotional Intelligence 💞 Lesson 12: Climate Change and the Role of the Government (Week starting May 13, 2024) Core Skill: Global Citizenship 🌍 Lesson 13: Communicating Tone (Week starting May 20, 2024) Core Skill: Teamwork and Communication 🗣️ Lesson 14: Breakdancing (Week starting May 27, 2024) Core Skill: Creativity and Innovation 💡 Lesson 15: Architecture: Famous Bridges (Week starting June 3, 2024) Core Skill: Motivation and Exploration 🌠 Lesson 16: Elements of Cultural Heritage (Week starting June 10, 2024) Core Skill: Critical Thinking 🧠 Lesson 17: Troubleshooting (Week starting June 17, 2024) Core Skill: Self-Awareness and Adaptability 🧘♀️ Lesson 18: Writing for Enjoyment (Week starting June 24, 2024) Core Skill: Emotional Intelligence 💞 Lesson 19: The Purpose of the UN (Week starting July 1, 2024) Core Skill: Global Citizenship 🌍 Lesson 20: Formal Debate (Week starting July 8, 2024) Core Skill: Teamwork and Communication 🗣️ Lesson 21: Dust Yourself Off and Try Again (Week starting July 15, 2024) Core Skill: Self-Awareness and Adaptability 🧘♀️ Lesson 22: Claude Monet (Week starting July 22, 2024) Core Skill: Creativity and Innovation 💡 Lesson 23: Deforestation (Week starting July 29, 2024) Core Skill: Global Citizenship 🌍 Lesson 24: We Can Work Together (Week starting Aug 5, 2024) Core Skill: Teamwork and Communication 🗣️ Lesson 25: Motivation (Week starting Aug 12, 2024) Core Skill: Motivation and Exploration 🌠 Lesson 26: Experiment Design (Week starting Aug 19, 2024) Core Skill: Critical Thinking 🧠 Lesson 27: Making Good Decisions (Week starting Aug 26, 2024) Core Skill: Self-Awareness and Adaptability 🧘♀️ Lesson 28: Sadness (Week starting Sep 2, 2024) Core Skill: Emotional Intelligence 💞 Lesson 29: Animal Rights (Week starting Sep 9, 2024) Core Skill: Global Citizenship 🌍 Lesson 30: Shopping: Returns and Refunds (Week starting Sep 16, 2024) Core Skill: Teamwork and Communication 🗣️ Lesson 31: Food and Festivals (Week starting Sep 23, 2024) Core Skill: Motivation and Exploration 🌠 Lesson 32: The Hero's Journey (Week starting Sep 30, 2024) Core Skill: Creativity and Innovation 💡 ------ Class Structure and Materials ------ Each of our lessons is separated into distinct sections: 1️⃣ After being welcomed to the class, learners will be introduced to the topic through a game or warm up activity. They will then have their existing knowledge on the topic tested with various inquiry-based questioning techniques. (5-10 minutes) 2️⃣ Then, our facilitators will present them with pertinent information on the topic and the main class task (10-15 minutes). 3️⃣ The facilitator will then present the main task, which will predominantly be student-led. During this time, students will be creating, innovating, or solving a problem while the facilitator guides them (20-25 minutes). 4️⃣ Learners will then have the opportunity to present their class work. They will give and receive feedback from each other as well as from the facilitator (10 minutes). 5️⃣ Before finishing the class, learners will complete a short Exit Ticket to solidify their takeaways from the class experience (5 minutes). The facilitator will share all of our content built on Canvas LMS. We use this for display purposes only and learners are not required to create an account. To make our content engaging, we diversify our delivery methods as much as possible. Our content includes static slides with text and images built on Microsoft Powerpoint, educational videos from YouTube, online games built on platforms such as Wordwall and Baamboozle, and interactive builds developed on Articulate Storyline. Our content is well-researched and referenced in every lesson, as it is all strictly factual, objective, and secular. We only use images and YouTube videos that fall under the Creative Commons license. Each of our lessons is also matched with a selection of Common Core and CPalms standards and is inspired by a variety of UNESCO key topics.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
We are committed to protecting your child’s privacy and protecting them from harmful or inappropriate content. We use Canvas LMS to store and display content only using the screen share feature on Zoom.
Learners are NOT required to make an account with Canvas or any other of our external resources. They will not be able to interact with the content in any way, nor are they permitted to view any of our content outside of class hours.
Learners MAY be required to have a Google Suite account, as they may have to digitally submit an assignment to our facilitator or collaborate with classmates using Google Docs, Google Jamboard, or Google Slides. We ask that parents create a dedicated and anonymous email account for the sole use of online task submission. Our facilitators will ensure to protect all personal information of learners.
Our facilitators ONLY show content that has been created and reviewed by our instructional design team. We design static slides using PowerPoint. In addition, please find a list of our other external sources, which we embed onto our Canvas pages and display through screen-share only:
Wordwall (https://wordwall.net/) - All of our Wordwall games are built in-house by our instructional design team. We do not use games that have not been built by a Shiminly instructional designer. Learners will not be sent the link, nor will they be required to create an account for Wordwall. All videos will be displayed through the screen-share feature only.
Baamboozle (https://www.baamboozle.com/games) - All of our Baamboozle games are built in-house by our instructional design team. We do not use games that have not been built by a Shiminly instructional designer. Learners will not be sent the link, nor will they be required to create an account for Baamboozle. All games will be displayed through the screen-share feature only.
YouTube - Some of our lessons contain YouTube videos which are embedded into our Canvas pages. All of these videos are under the Creative Commons license. Learners will not be sent the link, nor will they be required to create an account for YouTube. All videos will be displayed through the screen-share feature only.
Articulate Storyline 360 - To make our lessons more fun and engaging, we use animated slides designed with Articulate Storyline 360 by our instructional design team. Learners will not be sent the link, nor will they be required to create an account for Articulate Storyline 360. All slides will be displayed through the screen-share feature only.
Regarding the class topic, some content may be triggering for learners (e.g., emotions, finance, health). Such content will be approached with the utmost care and respect by our facilitators. Any questions asked during the lesson are preset and generalized and do not pertain directly to the learners. Learners will not be asked to share any of their personal experience related to this topic. Advice provided in the lesson is specific to the topic and not personalized. This class should not be viewed as a substitute for therapy or life counseling in any way.
Supply List
To participate fully in our sessions, learners require; a pencil, an eraser, a notebook, sheets of paper, and coloring pencils/crayons.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Teacher expertise and credentials
1 teacher has a Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's Degree from Hampshire College
All of our facilitators have lived and worked internationally for a minimum of 2 years and, collectively, share at least 30 years of international experience amongst them. They have taught learners from every continent and, as a result, they are knowledgeable about and sensitive to a wealth of different cultures.
Specializing primarily in language and cultural studies, our facilitators are well-equipped to guide your learner on their culture journey, teaching intercultural understanding and tolerance in a balanced and unbiased way. Reviews
Live Group Class
$20
weekly1x per week
60 min
Completed by 3 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 12-14
1-12 learners per class
