In this FLEX class, learners discover a new country each week. I have personally traveled the world, so I will be teaching some of the countries that I have visited and share what I have learned during my travels. Currently, I am living in Cote d'Ivoire in West Africa with my family. I am so excited to share my globe trotting experience with your young budding traveler. This is a great way to learn geography, culture, and gain an understanding of different people around the world. 
At the beginning of the course, I will share a small packet where they will create a scrapbook-style travel journal each week. It will include locating and briefly drawing the outline of the map, identifying any important geographical landmarks, discussing the climate, drawing a sketch of the flag and discussing the meaning of the flag, go over fun and interesting facts about the country, identify important historical sites and any important events in history, any important art or sports, and delving into the country's culture (including discussing in a factual but brief way the country's religion and common customs). I will also share a coloring page that goes over the meaning of the flag and it's importance to the country. A learner passport will be available to stamp each country they go to in the class. At the end of the video presentation, students will make a post identifying which sites they would like to visit the most from the country we learned about. The students will also write reflections about what they learned after watching the video and share each piece of writing into the classroom. The learners will be asked to make two positive comments on at least two other learners post.

Week 1: New Zealand
Week 2: Kazakhstan
Week 3: Thailand
Week 4: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Week 5: Japan
Week 6: Nepal
Week 7: Cote d'Ivoire
Week 8: Germany
Week 9: Italy
Week 10: Myanmar 
Week 11: Portugal 
Week 12: Costa Rica
Week 13: India
Week 14: Romania
Week 15: Sri Lanka 

To review and bullet point what we will be doing in class:

-a weekly video from me teaching about the new country
-a scrapbook record of your learning; reflects on places the learner would like to see, thoughtful considerations about various cultures, and connections made between countries. A short student video sharing one piece of their scrapbook posted into the classroom.
-a coloring page identifying the importance of the flag
-a passport that you can stamp
-weekly writing piece that reflects on the students learning posted into the classroom; two supportive comments to other learners in the class

*Update: I now am adding a small craft/project/recipe related to each week's travel destination. 


I hope you can come explore the world with me!

As with all FLEX classes, these are great for learners that like to work at their own pace and live in various time zones around the world! Let's be global learners together!

*Scholarly sources used to lead the classes: National Geographic Kids, Britannica Kids, and BrainPop