Spain

This activity was carried out by 2 classes of 18 students each (4th year of CSE - Age group: 15-16).

It was a CLIL project developed by the PE and the English teachers.

The main idea was to be able to interview some members of the ALEGA Basket Team during a visit to the local stadium, since some of its players are American (USA).

In PE class, students learnt about the basics of basketball play (training, technique...) as part of the syllabus of the subject.

Then, in English class, students had to prepare a set of questions to ask them. There were 5 main topics for the questions:

1. Background information (students decided to ask players about their background).
2. Spain / The US (similarities and differences, cultural shocks...)
3. Values / Inspiration in basket.
4. Health (diet, injuries...).
5. Technique.

Students were very interested and they engaged fully in the activity for its creativity (thinking of possible questions) and the possibility to turn the project into a real, out-of-school experience.

The team coach, representatives and players were also thrilled to be answering our questions as a way to attract the younger audiences to their sport.

The idea is to carry on with real interviews in the future as it is not very difficult to find English-speaking personalities that we can work with (face-to-face or online encounters).

Lithuania

My favourite European country's t-shirt says hello to you
Description:
In an integrated global education and geography lesson, pupils in grades 6-7 had to choose their favourite European country. They had to collect interesting facts about it, to know its neighbours, the size of its population, its most important cultural sites and a few words in the local language. They also had to bring a T-shirt, which they had to turn into a country's promotional T-shirt later in the lesson by drawing a flag on it and a few words in the local language. Then present your chosen country and explain your choice and translate the words. The T-shirts were displayed in the corridors of the school as an exhibition.
Geography and English for middle school students
Maximum number of students: 30

Equipment needed:
• Internet or any other information source for preparing presentation;
• Maps, or google maps for understanding the location;
• A projector or smartboard to make the presentation in class;
• T-shirts with paints for drawing the country's flag and writing the words.
Activities:
• Talking about Europe political geography during geography lessons
• Talking about Europe cultural differences during global education lessons
• Choosing the countries that will be presented and making the presentation
• Getting t-shirts and panting them with flags, symbols and words from selected country
• Presenting
• Making an exhibition

Results achieved:
• Developing information search and selection skills;
• Increase vocabulary while doing presentation not only in English but in language of selected country;
• Developing public speaking skills;
• Geography knowledge;
• Art skills;
• Sense of being a part of exhibition and knowing that it will be seen by school community makes them more involved.


Challenges:
• A fully fledged project (with presentations) takes more than one lesson
• not all students want their work to be publicly displayed and become part of an exhibition (fear of criticism).
• With a large number of pupils in the class, the countries the children want to learn about, whether they are their favourite tourist destinations or for historical reasons, i.e. Italy, Greece or Spain, are quickly picked out, and a contest ensues to choose them.


Areas of improvement:

• We can turn a presentation field trip into an orienteering competition, where the cultural objects become the checkpoints where the information you learn is necessary to win;
• We can adjust the tasks to include different teachers e.g.:
With the help of theatre teachers, we can prepare a short play;

A history teacher could be used to highlight a historical period or the importance of a cultural object in the history of a city/country;

A Geography teacher could target presentations to emphasize the location, building materials, purpose of the object, etc.

Lithuania

Deep understanding of how computers work


Description:
In a school where pupils use a personal tablet or laptop in every lesson, Grade 7 pupils in technology lessons disassemble computing devices to learn about the parts that make up a working device. Working in groups, the pupils search the internet for information in English about the different components and how they work, how they benefit the device and what they are made of. The projects are also shown to the school community during Project Week events. They prepare and make a presentation in English. They sort the working components in the dismantled device and use them for other projects.

Technologies classes for middle school students.

Maximum number of students: 10-20

Equipment needed:
• Old computer for disassembly
• Disassembly kit (tools)
• Internet for research
• Computer for presentation

Activities:
• disassembling a computer
• Working in groups
• information research and preparation of presentations
• presenting your research in front of class

Results achieved:
• combining theoretical and practical knowledge
• Students will learn what materials a computer/laptop/tablet is made of and know the technical terms.
• what is the technical working principle of a computer/laptop/tablet
• the knowledge gained will be a background for further study in computer science.
• Students will be able to understand the principles of operation and safety requirements and will be able to properly assess the severity of a computer malfunction if it happend in future.
• Preparation and presentation of a presentation

Challenges:
• need to have old computers/laptops/tablets for disassembly
• some technical terminology is complex
• safety requirements need to be properly explained so that they don't start dismantling and damaging equipment in the home, or injure themselves
Areas of improvement:
• older students, or more advanced students, could build their own computers or other working devices from a selection of components
• integrated projects with physics or geography on sustainably sustainable energy topics
• Collaborative projects with a modelling class or robotics academy

Italy

The first CLIL activity has been conducted in the linguistic high school and the work has been developed focusing on the implementation of specific language, giving to students the possibility to improve the understanding of specific philosophical texts and to develop the argumentative skills which are the two main disciplinary skills of philosophy. One of the goals was the participation in the philosophical championship.
The other CLIL activity has been conducted also in the linguistic high school in the sections ESABAC which is a french-italian double degree program. The work has been developed focusing on the implementation of specific historical language, giving to students the possibility to improve the understanding and interpretation of various document type: texts, images, videos, posters etc.
The methodology applied for the CLIL activity focused not just only in the direction of the specific language but also to develop the disciplinary skills of History.

Lithuania

Description:
After school, the school has a French-language theatre group called the Francophonic club. During the theatre session, the pupils and the theatre director put on a play in French, e.g. one of the plays is "The Shoeless Cat". French is also integrated in the music lessons, so that the play includes not only dialogue but also songs and dances, thus bringing together pupils of different abilities. The performance is not only performed in the school environment, but also at festivals in the country and in France, when students from different countries come and present their performances in French.

Language, music, dance and theatre classes for middle school students.

Maximum number of students: 10-30

Equipment needed:
• theatre space
• costumes
• travel expenses for participation in festivals

Activities:
• memorisation of text of various complexity and length, and the ability to present it theatrically
• acting lessons
• dance lessons
• performing acting

Results achieved:
• combining theoretical and practical knowledge
• get out and see the world
• to get rid of shyness by expressing oneself through acting and using a foreign language

Challenges:
• not all pupils are willing to express themselves through acting
• most of the production takes place after school
• it is a long-term project
• costumes and scenery cost money for quality
• travel costs, but there are no costs for doing it entirely in your school

Areas of improvement:
• the school could organise theatre evenings at the end of the school year, where all classes perform small plays

Romania

The 3 R’s And Waste Management
Definition of waste, classification of materials, biodegradable and non-biodegradable materials, and the 3 R’s and ways to implement them

Geography lesson for year 5

Maximum number of students: 25
Equipment needed: computer and projector.
Activities: The presentation support was an interactive one using Genially platform, with embedded videos and quizzes. The teacher presented the danger posed by waste, the importance of waste management and how this can be implemented, the materials ordinary items are made of, what the definitions of the 3 R’s are, and ways of carrying out each activity. The interactive quiz and the videos helped the students better understand the topic.
Results achieved: The students were able to share their opinions and ideas regarding their views on waste management, and they could relate the topic to their own experience of managing waste.
Challenges: Most of the students have a very good level of English, although there are still some of them who still encounter difficulties, mainly in speaking. The teacher encouraged the latter to speak up, even if they had to switch, for some words or phrases, to their mother tongue. Since the topic was quite engaging, all the students could participate in the lesson.
Points of strength:
The world's communities are now more interconnected. Speaking various languages is therefore becoming increasingly important. There is a big focus on spoken language while teaching in a foreign language. It facilitates and enhances language learning. Academically, children typically perform better and are more equipped for future learning and employment.
Areas of improvement: Teachers can examine students' knowledge through student-teacher dialogue. In order to encourage students to participate in conversation, teachers might use a variety of strategies, such as refraining from interrupting, asking students to summarize, and converting comments into questions. In order to improve students' language and literacy learning, teachers should make use of students' prior knowledge and experiences as well as build on what they already know.
It's crucial for teachers to give English language learners rich and relevant classroom experiences so they can understand the new academic terminology they learn and the topics they are taught.

Teaching material - https://view.genial.ly/6368b76a420cd70013bad128/presentation-waste-management-and-the-3-rs

Spain

Introduction: The aim of this activity is that students read, analyse and reflect on the processes and main events involved in the French Revolution. To this end, they will publish a newspaper as if it had been compiled in this historical period.

Duration: 6 sessions (depending on the amount of time you give students to complete the final task).

Age and number of students: 15–16-year-old students (we carried out the activity with 2 classes of 18 students each).

Organisation of the activities:
1. Students work in groups and decide which section of the newspaper they want to create (economy, personalities, main events…).
2. Students work with the French and History teacher to analyse a selection of texts and online resources to be used in the production of their section.
3. When they have processed the information and it is ready to be included in the newspaper, students have to decide about a single editing style and typography conventions.
4. Finally, students produce a single newspaper to be printed and later used by other groups interested in learning about this historical process.

Results achieved: Students were able to fully understand the key elements of the section they were working on to produce the task and, second, learn about the work of the other groups in order to get a comprehensive idea of the French Revolution.

Challenges and how they were addressed: Some of the ideas and concepts presented were difficult at first. However, the joint sessions with both teachers in the class allowed for more complete explanations.

Strengths and areas of improvement:
Teachers: should have had joint teaching in, at least, one of the sessions.
Students: Development of investigation, analytical and writing skills, creativity and autonomy.

Spain

Duration and participants:
2 sessions, 30 students

Activities:.
- School trip to the zoo where they will enjoy a guided tour in English about animals.
- Kahoot game about animals.
- Group activities about the zoo and its animals.

Results achieved:
Students have learnt a lot about the topic of this project; they have known the animals’ main characteristics, their habitat, and their endangered situation, if so.

Other aspects to consider:
The main obstacle to overcome here was the very low level of the English language that some of the students had. But they overcame this problem thanks to their mates’ and their teacher’s help.

Spain

Duration and participants:
sessions, 30 students

Activities:
- Brainstorming about immigration.
- Research about immigration, official data, statistics.
- Survey to other students, families and public in general about immigration issues.
- Video interviews to immigrants, testimonies.
- Workshop with an NGO (Cardijn) which helps underaged immigrants.
- Powerpoint presentations in class presenting all the information.
- Analysis of fake news.

Results achieved:
Students have learnt a lot about the topics of this project, they have worked in cooperation and they have become aware of the fact that the situation for many people is really difficult to the point of risking their life to come to Spain. They have met young people like them who have come to our country this way, and some of they even cried while listening to their testimonies. This project has been a life changing experience.

Other aspects to consider:
At the beginning, we had to confront many prejudices against immigrants, and many fake news and beliefs.

Spain

Duration and participants:
3 sessions, 25 students

Activities:
- Brainstorming about animal life in our area, mainly about autochthonous species like the kentish plover, who is an endangered bird.
- Debate about how littering, pollution and climate change affect birds and oceanic life in our area.
- Workshop on the beach, where they could see and learn about the kentish plover, with Ecologistas en Acción.
- Rubbish gathering on the beach.
- Field notebook.
- Presenting our conclusions about the topic to a local association in order to create a Field notebook.

Results achieved:
The main achievement that can be mentioned about this project is the fact that students became conscious of the consequences that our actions have for animals in particular and for the environment in general, specially after they saw the big amount of rubbish that they had collected in a short time and just in a small part of the beach. So, they discussed and learnt about how to preserve the environment. Apart from that, they also learnt about local bird species, their characteristics, their life customs, and so on.

Other aspects to consider:
We all considered that this such an essential topic nowadays, that this project led us to promote other projects related to this topic, and even to ask for Erasmus grant to work on environmental issues with students.

Spain

Duration and participants: 5 sessions, 30 students
Activities:
- Brainstorming about democracy and human rights, etc.
- Research about democracy and human rights, historical and current facts, human rights violations all over the world.
- Preparation of the kahoot game, report and the power point presentations.
- Presentation of the research in class.
- Role play situations about human rights violations.
- Playing Kahoot.
- School trip to Cadiz, city where the first constitution was signed.
- Creation of posters representing everything learnt throughout the project.
Results achieved:
Students have learnt a lot about the topics of this project, they have worked in cooperation putting into practice some of the main ideas of democracy, they have had to learn about how to manage different situations, and they become aware of the fact that the situation in many other countries is not as “lucky” so to say as the one we enjoy in our country. Thanks to the videos, powerpoint presentation and posters, the rest of the school has also learnt about the topic.
Other aspects to consider:
It has been beneficial for all of them because they have been working in a way that can be useful for other projects they have to carry out in the future, and about topics that will benefit their whole life.

Italy

The CLIL activity has been conducted in the 5th year of the Scientific Lyceum, history course. The work has been developed focusing in the History Subject: The 1920s and the 1930s in the USA (“Roaring Twenties, 1929 crisis, Great Depression, F.D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, J.M. Keynes economic theory). It was divided into the following topics:
• To know the main aspects of the 1920’s- 1930s in the United States, by a social, political, economic viewpoint:The Roaring Twenties (self-made man myth, American Dream), the 1929 crisis, the Great Depression, Roosevelt’s New Deal, Keynes’ economic thought
• To use historical sources: reading and listening the 1933 inaugural address by F. D. Roosevelt: Roosevelt and the New Deal
• To feel the mood of the Roaring Twenties through cinema: Social conditions, women’s emancipation, jazz age, prohibition, organized crime
• To present, compare and discuss different aspects of America about Italian immigrants through three different stories: Sacco and Vanzetti, Al Capone and Fiorello La Guardia: Al Capone, Sacco and Vanzetti, Fiorello La Guardia stories
• To present, compare and discuss different sides of America about alcohol consumption: prohibition/speakeasies:
• To present, compare and discuss different sides of America about African-American population-the spread of Ku Klux Klan-the Harlem Renaissance.
• To present, compare and discuss different aspects of America about women‘s emancipation: Flappers-Eleanor Roosevelt
• To present different artistic expressions of the 1920’s 1930’s: pictures, music, cinema: Charlie Chaplin/Oliver Hardy and Stan Lauren’s Films; Dorothea Lange’s Photography and Edward Hoppers’ paintings; George Gershwin and Duke Ellington’s music.
• To debate about different economic policies: liberalist and Keynesian
• To improve pronunciations skills singing songs of (or on) the 1920s-1930s: Songs of the 1920s-1930s (or on 1920s-1930s): Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off; I’m Through With Love; Runnin’ Wild; I Wanna Be Loved By You; It Don’t Mean A Thing; Dream A Little Dream Of Me; Sweet Georgia Brown; Summertime; Like A Rolling Stone; Here’s to you

Italy

The CLIL activity has been conducted in the 5th year of the CAT specialization (CAT means Buildings, Environment and Territory) involving 22 students.
The work has been developed focusing in the implementation of specific language, giving to students the possibility to improve the understanding of specific text and to describe architecture with appropriate language. We have worked starting from the biography of architects first, exploring main characters of the architecture with the used technology.
Main architects have been investigated through articles and videos, with interview in original language:
- Frank Lloyd Wright
- Le Corbusier
- Richard Meyer
- Norman Foster
- Zaha Hadid
- Frank O. Gehry
- Francis Kéré, 2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize
Original interview puts the difficulty to hear different pronunciation of English, improving the understanding.
The methodoly applied for the CLIL activity focused not just only in the direction of the specific language for surveyors but also for European young people that will move around the world, exploring cities and cultures and architecture as well.

Spain

Introduction: The aim of this project is to describe an experiment conducted at the Physics and Chemistry laboratory in order to learn the difference between density and concentration by measuring the mass of the solute and the volume of the solvent. At the same time, students will become aware of the importance of planning before any presentation.

Duration: 5 weeks

Age and number of students: 14-15 year-old students (we carried out the activity with 2 classes of around 17 students each).

Organization of the activities:
1. The Physics and Chemistry teacher works with the students on the specific vocabulary and expressions that they will need for this topic, and which will, therefore, be used during their presentations.
2. In groups of three, the students conduct the experiment at the laboratory and note down the different steps, together with the measurements and results obtained. During the following week, they hand in the corresponding report to the Physics teacher.
3. With the help of the English teacher, students will learn how to prepare and organise their presentations: by practising key words in context, connectors of sequence, main tenses and structure.
4. Students elaborate a draft of their presentations and receive feedback both from the content-subject teacher and the language teacher.
5. Finally, during the English class, students produce 2 different types of outcomes:
5.1. Half of the class will give an oral presentation (individually) explaining the laboratory procedure and results obtained.
5.2. The other half will produce a written description or report of the same experiment.

(Roles will be changed during a second project).

Results achieved: All students were able to produce both final tasks.

Challenges and how they were addressed: one of the main problems was to make students understand the importance of planning all middle steps before delivering a final product (their typical reaction being writing or speaking without previous or minimum preparation). To avoid this, students were informed from the beginning that part of their mark would come from preparation and attention to feedback.

Strengths:
Teachers: close collaboration between different departments (English, Physics and Chemistry), including joint evaluation.
Students: understanding of the scientific procedure; development of time-management and planning skills.

Areas of improvement: Attention to deadlines. Insisting on the importance of learning from feedback.

Lithuania

Description:
During the Global Education Year 7 pupils are given the task of preparing a report on cultural sites in Kaunas city centre. Working in pairs, pupils gather information about a selected or drawn object and make a short 3-5 minute story/presentation in English. The cultural sites are visited together with the Year 6 pupils who are the focus of the presentation, so that the pupils become not only learners but also teachers. Next year, the baton is passed on to the former Year 6 pupils, who become Year 7.
Geography, history and English for middle school students
Maximum number of students: 30 up to 60 students (two classes)

Equipment needed: Internet or any other information source for preparing presentation.
Activities:
• In our lessons, we talk about the importance of understanding and remembering our heritage and the influence of our surroundings on the formation of our personality.
• Students are divided into groups and given a task to complete in two weeks. During this time, students can consult their history and geography teachers. The form of the presentation is left to the pupils' discretion, with only a time limit, but this can be adjusted if the pupils decide to make the presentation something special
• Teachers, accompanists and pupils head out into the city center for a day trip, which can include time for fun activities or museum visits
• There is a tour of the cultural sites, during which presentations are made and a short summaries are made by the Year 6 pupils, as the Year 7 pupils create a collaborative test, which the Year 6 pupils will have to do as homework and which can be evaluated by the teacher for a grade.

Results achieved:
• Developing information search and selection skills;
• Increase vocabulary;
• Developing public speaking skills;
• Sense of patriotism - knowledge of one's own culture;


Challenges:
• There are no major challenges, just the timing of the trip, i.e. the right weather conditions and the timetable, as the trip will take place during school hours;
• The ability to manage a large group of students, but this is something we often have to deal with, so we would not consider it a challenge;

Areas of improvement:

• We can turn a presentation field trip into an orienteering competition, where the cultural objects become the checkpoints where the information you learn is necessary to win;
• We can adjust the tasks to include different teachers e.g.:
With the help of theatre teachers, we can prepare a short play;

A history teacher could be used to highlight a historical period or the importance of a cultural object in the history of a city/country;

A Geography teacher could target presentations to emphasize the location, building materials, purpose of the object, etc.

Lithuania

Description:
During February 16 (Independence day in Lithuania), students gather on their free day in school to introduce Lithuania and share the message about this day to different classrooms in the world by using Skype calls. Calculating the virtual kilometres we cover on the calls - students travel around the planet Earth - over 40 000 kilometres a day.

Geography, history and English for middle school students

Maximum number of students: 30

Equipment needed:
• computer and projector with microphone, or interactive board,
• laptops, tablets or printed handouts
• maps, globes
• Countries flag, music instruments and some local objects you wish to show, or perform on.

Activities:
• The teacher coordinates skype calls with schools in different countries and arranges for the students to receive a country presentation and a greeting (on Independence Day) in the local language of the speakers.
• Pupils divide up who will present Lithuania, who will talk about independence, who will give interesting facts, who will play national instruments or sing, who will ask questions of the speakers.
• The idea of the "Mystery Skype" game is that students in both classes don't know which country in the world they are calling to when the call is made, so they have to find out by asking questions that can only be answered yes or no
Results achieved:
Practical use of English during presentations, and encouragement to react quickly to situations by answering spontaneous questions during calls.
Improved knowledge and self-awareness of the world. Encouraging patriotism in the celebration of national holidays and in the celebration of the achievements and uniqueness of one's country.
Strengthening of the school community, as the activities of this particular project are carried out on a voluntary basis during free time.

Challenges:
There are some difficulties while during project:

• Technical barriers while having a skype call - sound quality, video quality, internet connectivity;

• Cultural differences - perception of time (to be late for the call or send additional information on time), priorities of caller (ending before finishing the call tasks)
• Human factors - responsibility - last minute withdraw; difficult timing, because of time zones; change of plans for students which have to do some activity; Unexpected circumstances - power outage, evacuation drill
• English and knowledge of their country by “guests” might be not as good as yours


Points of strength:
• Geographical knowledge - knowledge of natural objects and countries
• Cultural knowledge - presentation of the country, presentation of culture, knowing other cultures and comparing them
• English language - questions are asked in English, some questions are made on the spot and all the questions asked by "guests" has to be answered in english aswell.
• Public speaking – students involved need to do it here and now
• Engagement - even the quieter children get involved
• Networking with teachers - future projects

Areas of improvement:
The project can be extended in many different ways, depending on your objectives. Couple of examples:
• Virtual tours - a ranger from Yellowstone National Park shows you around the park, or museum guided tours of World War I bunkers, etc.
• Virtual lessons - about animals at the Portuguese Zoo
• Guest speakers - book writers, professors, actors, oceanologists, etc.

Italy

The CLIL activity conducted during the 5th year of the Mechatronics and mechanical systems specialization involved 24 students during the 2nd period for a total of 5 lessons and 10 hours. Some of the topics covered:
non-destructive controls within the mechanical technology
non-destructive control of various kinds, from penetrating liquids to ultrasounds to magnetic ones.
show and analize entire 15 minutes each from English speaking technicians
show and analize entire 15 minutes each from American speaking technicians
show and analize entire 15 minutes each from not English speaking technicians
debate on the different pronunciation between those who are native speakers, but English-speaking and English, and those who are native speakers, but American.
The aim of the activity:
Learn specific mechanics topics in English, through different forms of pronunciation.
The students had the opportunity to improve their learning of specific terminology in L2 English. The students have also developed good interdisciplinary knowledge and skills, have acquired an intercultural vision as well as have improved general competence in L2 English language by developing good oral communication skills. In the students who took the CLIL module to the state exam these improvements were highlighted and very appreciated.
The strength of this experience was to increase the mastery of the subject in the students and to have brought their linguistic ability to a higher level.

Italy

The CLIL activity conducted during the 5th year of the IT specialization involved 24 students during the 2nd period for a total of 5 lessons and 10 hours. Some of the topics covered:
Internet of Things: Explain the positive effects of the Internet of everything on our everyday lives
The value of the IoT: Identify the elements of the IoT
Things as an Element: Explain why data, people and processes are elements of the IoT
Introduction to the Cisco IoT System: Explain the features and functions of the Cisco IoT System
Introduction to Configuring Things: Configure devices to communicate in the IoT
Programming: Apply basic programming codes
Prototyping Your Ideas: Explain prototyping and its purpose
Implementing an IoT Solution: Explain an IoT solution to address real-world opportunities
IoT Security: Explain how the IoT increases the need for additional security measures
Digitally Transforming Everything: Explain the advantages of digitization
Want to Go Further?: Explain IoT educational and employment opportunities
The aim of the activity:
Learn how the current digital transformation is creating unprecedented economic opportunity
Understand how the IoT is bridging the gap between operational and information technology systems
Discover how standard business processes are being transformed
Security concerns that must be considered when implementing IoT solutions
Understanding technical videos, presentations, vocabulary and define IoT solutions
Explain IoT security issues
The transversal aims:
Technical communication
Information retrieval
Concepts and principles definition
The students had the opportunity to improve their learning of specific terminology in L2 English. The students have also developed good interdisciplinary knowledge and skills, have acquired an intercultural vision as well as have improved general competence in L2 English language by developing good oral communication skills. In the students who took the CLIL module "Introduction to Internet of Things" to the state exam these improvements were highlighted and very appreciated.
The strength of this experience was to increase the mastery of the subject in the students and to have brought their linguistic ability to a higher level. It would be necessary to update the CLIL teacher in the teaching competence of this methodology in order to have greater familiarity in the knowledge of the language to allow him to teach in the language on the topic of the day. The lack of a good knowledge of the CLIL language and methodology often leads the teacher to simplify and flatten the concepts, making the lessons less stimulating and complete. Furthermore the non-continuous updating of the language leads, sometimes, the teacher to use grammatically incorrect structures.

Romania

Equipment needed: computer and projector, laptops, tablets or printed handouts
The activity involved 17 students and took about 50 minutes.
Learning outcomes:
- to define genetic material transmission material vocabulary words
- to define mitosis/cell division
- to draw out the cell cycle and the life cycle
- to explain the function of chromosomes
- to explain the students the role of gametes and fertilization in genetic determination a gender
- to write the stages of fertilization process
- use worldwall resources to better set the information for students
Linguistic outcomes:
– improve listening/speaking/interaction skills
– translate words connected with the topic from English into their mother tongue
– understand English speeches, produced by native and non-native speakers
– read English texts fluently
– distinguish the language needed to carry out activities
– enrich scientific vocabulary
– give opinions and pieces of advice
– produce clear and coherent texts in English

Areas of improvement: Students need to be encouraged to practice their English. Students with less mastery of English can feel they are left out or can have trouble following the lesson. The teacher should strive to engage with the whole class, let the students express themselves even if they make mistakes. It can go as far away as allowing students to share their thoughts in their native language and then translate them in English. It is important to have a casual and open atmosphere during class and bridge the teacher student gap.

Romania

History class 7th grade - Unification of Germany

Equipment needed: computer and projector, laptops, tablets or printed handouts.
The activity involved 20 students and it lasted 50 minutes

Learning outcomes:
- to learn about Unification of Germany – context, implications, maps etc.
- To understand the European historic context of the unification of Germany
- To learn the importance of Wilhelm I and Bismark and their actions in the context of unification
- Understand the context using an interactive map
- to use youtube videos about Bismark for listening skills

Linguistic outcomes:
– read English texts fluently
– reflect on their reading experience and share it with their peers
– improve listening/reading/note-taking skills
– get the main ideas from a passage
– enrich scientific vocabulary
– give opinions and pieces of advice

Areas of improvement: Students need to be encouraged to practice their English. Students with less mastery of English can feel they are left out or can have trouble following the lesson. The teacher should strive to engage with the whole class, let the students express themselves even if they make mistakes. It can go as far away as allowing students to share their thoughts in their native language and then translate them in English. It is important to have a casual and open atmosphere during class and bridge the teacher student gap.

Romania

Digital device model, examples of digital devices, Input, Process, Output

Information Technology and Communication lesson for year 5.

Maximum number of students: 30

Equipment needed: computer and projector, laptops, tablets or printed handouts.

Activities: Presentation of lesson and discussion of main points with students. The lesson format is classic, “chalk and talk”. The teacher presents various aspects, starting from types of day to day devices, how they work, moving on to what makes a digital device, why some devices are digital and some others are analog, compares a digital device to an analog device that does the same thing, pros and cons of digital devices, why we are switching to digital devices and concludes by doing a small recap of the lesson and checking the responses on the handouts.

Results achieved: students understand why some analog devices have switched to digital, what are the drawbacks and the gains, why digital signals have finites steps, what are the pros and cons of that.

Challenges: the English level of some students may hinder their understanding of the lesson. This can be addressed by translating technical terms in the native language. Students with good English will tend to monopolize the discussion. The teacher can name students and encourage them to voice their opinion on the topic at hand.

Points of strength: Teaching in an international languace helps both the teacher and the students improve their knowledge of that particular language. It provides a change in the usual teaching habits for that discipline, which makes both the teacher and the students more focused and requires a degree of multitasking, which in term helps fix the knowledge in a new way. Sometimes the topic at hand is more accesible in English, because that is the main language at the forefront of that particular domain and the student or the teacher is exposed to that knowledge through English.

Areas of improvement: Students need to be encouraged to practice their English. Students with less mastery of English can feel they are left out or can have trouble following the lesson. The teacher should strive to engage with the whole class, let the students express themselves even if they make mistakes. It can go as far away as allowing students to share their thoughts in their native language and then translate them in English. It is important to have a casual and open atmosphere during class and bridge the teacher student gap.

Romania

Dwelling definition, classification, height of buildings, areas and rooms of a house, steps to build a house

Technology lesson for year 6.

Maximum number of students: 30

Equipment needed: computer and projector.

Activities: Presentation of lesson and discussion of main points with students. As students don’t have access to their digital devices, there is no interactive digital component and the lesson format is classic, “chalk and talk”. The teacher presents various aspects regarding types of homes (individual and collective), renting vs buying, home sizes in different cultures and how big a house should be, rooms and areas in a house.

Results achieved: students share their housing situation, their personal expeerience and their future views on the main topics from the lesson.

Challenges: the English level of some students may hinder their understanding of the lesson. This can be adressed by translating technical terms in the native language. Students with good English will tend to monopolize the discussion. The teacher can name students and encourage them to voice their opinion on the topic at hand.

Points of strength: Teaching in an international languace helps both the teacher and the students improve their knowledge of that particular language. It provides a change in the usual teaching habits for that discipline, which makes both the teacher and the students more focused and requires a degree of multitasking, which in term helps fix the knowledge in a new way. Sometimes the topic at hand is more accesible in English, because that is the main language at the forefront of that particular domain and the student or the teacher is exposed to that knowledge through English.

Areas of improvement: Students need to be encouraged to practice their English. Students with less mastery of English can feel they are left out or can have trouble following the lesson. The teacher should strive to engage with the whole class, let the students express themselves even if they make mistakes. It can go as far away as allowing students to share their thoughts in their native language and then translate them in English. It is important to have a casual and open atmosphere during class and bridge the teacher student gap.

Spain

Duration and participants: 4 sessions, 32 students

Activities:
- Brainstorming about the Antarctic, environment, climate change, etc.
- Research about the Antarctic and the environmental problems that we are suffering, etc
- Preparation of questions for the video call with scientists in the Antarctic
- Video call with scientists
- Presentation of conclusions about the Antarctic campaign

Results achieved:
Students knew about the Antarctic campaign, about the importance of taking care of our environment for the future of our planet and for their own future. It was good for them to know that there are people working on things that thay might not have thought about before. At the same time, they used the foreign language to communicate among themselves and with the scientists, so they became conscious of the importance of having good communicative skills in a foreign language. Some of them even decided to get involved in different associations to offer their help after their participation in this project.

Other aspects to consider:
At the beginning they had to overcome some obstacles, especially the fact of using the foreign language to communicate everything they wanted to say, but they found the topic so interesting that soon they got used to it. They did other kinds of projects related to the environment suggested by the students themselves after this one.

Spain

Duration and participants: 8 sessions, 28 students
Activities:
- Brainstorming about information students really have about their city’s history, patrimony, main economic activities, etc.
- Research about different aspects of our cities, including history, monuments, factories, city hall, touristic landmarks, gastronomy, etc
- Visits to different areas and organizations
- Working in groups to reach a final product that they will present to the rest of the class
- Presentation of their final products (posters, power points, videos, tour around the city explained by students themselves wearing costumes, oral expositions)
Results achieved:
Students became aware of really important data related to their own city through the use of the foreign language. They improved their language skills, at the same time that they worked autonomously (sometimes guided by the teacher) but in cooperation with their team mates. They also gained confidence while presenting their final products.
Other aspects to consider:
They sometimes found difficult to express what they wanted to say, but thanks to having included students with different levels of the content and the language level, they could help each other throughout the whole process.

Spain

Introduction: The aim of this project was to work on the contents of the subject Biology with students of other countries in Spanish, French and English. The project was conducted on the Etwinning platform and was awarded national and international quality labels. Besides the curricular objectives, students also worked on their interpersonal communicative skills, ICT and other important transversal competences.

Duration: One school year

Age and number of students: 12-13 year-old students (we carried out the activity with 3 classes of around 20 students each). They collaborated with students of Portugal, Greece, France, Turkey and Italy of the same age.

Some of the activities included:
- Students created videos and presentations to introduce themselves.
- Students created logos and slogans for the project. They voted to choose the one for the project.
- Students shared photos connected with climate change and voted for the best ones.
- Students shared information about the biodiversity of their regions and shared with other students.
- Students created a new animal based on the characteristics explained in class and shared the results with the rest of the countries.
Apart from these, students participated in the forums and talked with students from other countries regularly. Some face to face meetings were also held.

Results achieved: Students were able to work with the languages (English , French and Spanish) and the contents of the subject of Biology (for example the characteristics of vertebrates and invertebrates). Moreover, students worked with ICT (different APPS) and communicated with students of other countries.

Challenges and how they were addressed: Time management has probably been the biggest difficulty we faced. There were many students involved in the project and that has somehow turned it difficult to develop whole tasks as we would like.

Strengths and areas of improvement:
Teachers: close collaboration between different departments (English, French, Biology, Counselling).
Students: development of critical thinking, creativity, interpersonal communication skills and autonomy.
Areas of improvement: time management and teacher coordination.

Spain

Introduction:
The aim of this activity is to make students aware of the importance of body posture in relation to our overall wellness. By the end of the activity, they will become conscious of their body posture in different situations by working on how to sit properly from a physiological point of view. They will also analyse the results of a scientific study in which they are introduced to the close relationships between different postures and emotions.

Duration: From 6 to 8 sessions (depending on the amount of time you give students to complete the final tasks).

Age and number of students: 15–16-year-old students (we carried out the activity with 2 classes of 16 students each).

Organisation of the activities:
Students work with the PE (Physical Education) teacher on body-related vocabulary and posture dynamics. Both from a theoretical and a practical point of view.
Students work with the English teacher to analyse a TEDTalk in which they are presented with a scientific study where they learn about the close connections between postures and emotions. The idea is to understand that the posture we take has a direct effect on how we feel from an emotional perspective.
Finally, students produce 2 main tasks and they choose between working individually or in pairs.
Creation of an instructional video [3-5 minutes] in which students explain what they have learned and put it into practice by giving a practical class on how to sit properly.
Dissemination of the information via powerpoint, an infographic, kahoot, poster, another video, or any media they see fit for this purpose. The idea is to share their analysis and conclusions from the TEDTalk with other classes of the school. For example, targeting a group of 12-year-olds.

Results achieved: Students reached their own conclusions and really understood about the relevance of good posture in their daily lives and the deep connections between mind and body. All of them were able to produce both final tasks.

Challenges and how they were addressed: Some of the ideas and concepts presented were difficult at first. However, the joint sessions with both teachers in the class allowed for more complete explanations.

Strengths and areas of improvement:
Teachers: close collaboration and joint teaching.
Students: Development of critical thinking, creativity and autonomy.