Organize field trips related to language learning

John Pecoraro received a CLP grant to support a field trip for Chariho Regional High School. Students visited a Chinese market and purchased items for their graduation ceremony. Students appeared to enjoy this, as it was a different experience than they were accustomed to in their home town. After the Chinese market, we went to the Rhode Island School of Design to tour the Chinese portion of the Asian art galleries. Students were able to view and appreciate various works of art, and also document the artwork using the walkthrough reflection tool.

Chen Ken (Moos Elementary School, 2018-2019) and Rafael Jimenez (Moos Elementary School, 2018-2019) received a CLP grant to attend a Chinese New Year’s Parade on Sunday February 10, 2019. As part of the school's cultural learning, families visited Chinatown for the event. After the parade, students and families explored Chinatown and ate at a restaurant with food from the Sichuan Province. This learning impacted even more students with photographs and story sharing by the students who attened the trip during class.

Ezzat Hassan (2015-2016) will be leading a field trip for students at his home school, Gesfa Secondary School for Girls, to Cairo to visit sites of cultural and historical interest. During this field trip, students will have the opportunity to practice English in a particular context. Prior to the field trip, students will have the opportunity to learn about American culture through webinars held by teachers at Ezzat's host school, Mentor High School. Following the field trip, Egyptian students will share their experiences on the trip with students in Arabic classes at Mentor.

Sean Fredericks (2016-2018), a mentor teacher from John W. Lavelle Preparatory Charter School in Staten Island, New York, received a CLP grant to take, with Adel Ghattas (2017-2018), the 34 Arabic students at Lavelle on a field trip to the United Nations in Manhattan. The field trip will occur in 2018, the 70th anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On this field trip, students will have the opportunity to learn about the history of the United Nations and Middle East Policy from a UN representative.

Abdelhady Ali (2008-2009) received a CLP grant to found an American Culture Club at Gharbiya STEM School in Tanta, Egypt. Through this club, 100 students will have the opportunity to learn about American films, food, games, dance, music, sports, and holidays, as well as other elements of American culture. Students will also have the opportunity, as part of the American Culture Club, to attend workshops and field trips. Additionally, the club will purchase quality instructional materials to promote the English language program at the school.

Passant Aly (2017-2018) organized an Arabic Club in which participants got the chance to learn communicative Arabic and experience Arabic culture. The club met at Anne Chesnutt Middle School once every week, for eight weeks. Each week there was a different theme. For example, the first week focused on language and traditions and the second week students explored food and festivals. For each theme participants learned through doing: they cooked, performed dances, learned Arabic letters, and much more. Arabic Club members also went on field trips and virtual tours of Egypt as well.

Mentor teacher Debby Page (2016-2018) and exchange teacher Li Chunping (2017-2018) organized a unit (using the Franklin Institute's Terracotta Warriors of the First Emperor K-12 Educators' Guide) focused on the story and science behind the terracotta warriors, exploring Chinese culture, history and language with their students. Working with library media specialists at their school, Ms. Page and Ms. Li Chunping guided students in a virtual field trip to the Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses in Xi’an, China.

Adel Ghattas (2017-18) received a CLP grant to conduct a project designed to introduce his students to the history of the Middle East through a rich artistic context, engaging them with the language and culture in a fun way. Mr. Ghattas worked with the global history teacher at his school to prepare and present on the Arab-Israeli conflict. After students had learned about the historical and cultural background, they watched the movie The Band's Visit and participated in classroom activities that explored the movie's characters and themes.

Ivy Yiu, mentor teacher at North Warren Regional, was awarded a CLP grant to take students enrolled in Chinese classes, as well as students in the Chinese club, on a field trip to Terracotta Warriors of the First Emperor exhibit at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA. Students who participated in the field trip then collaborated with Mrs. Yiu and the 2017-2018 exchange teacher Zhang Wenjie to plan a week-long Discover China! event held at the school in order to raise awareness and enthusiasm about Chinese language and culture and the North Warren Chinese program.

Ji Guanping’s (2017-2019) project aimed to enhance students’ cross-cultural understanding and increase their interest in learning about Chinese language and culture. Activities included Chinese New Year poster making, Chinese calligraphy for decoration, appreciating artwork of China and other Asian countries, and trying Chinese food by ordering in the target language in an authentic Chinese restaurant. A culminating event was held simultaneously with parent/teacher conferences for the students to share their experiences and knowledge and celebrate the Chinese New Year.