How are we keeping students active and engaged in the classroom while in a pandemic? In our Spanish classes, students participate in a virtual language and cultural exchange program. Although it can not replace the actual service immersive we’ve hosted in the past with trips to Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, Ms. Jennings and Kenia Ramirez found a way to bridge cultures and language. Ms. Jennings said of the program, “Obviously we can’t go to Nicaragua or the DR right now, but Kenia and I wanted to find a way to keep the cross-cultural exchange and empathy-building alive while fostering some Spanish language skills.”
To do this, each student introduced themselves in Spanish and then played a round of trivia to see what each group had learned about the other based on individual intro videos that each of the students created and sent to each other. The Winchendon School students were then paired with a Nicaraguan student. Students will continue to communicate over the next few of weeks to share Life Maps (below) and interview each other. An additional live exchange via Zoom is scheduled for November.
Looking Deeper
Read the complete program description for Bridges to Community & The Winchendon School here.
