Literacy projects start with letter writing and emails


Here are some useful links:

BBC Africa Lives - Schools Pack - Twin Stories
BBC World Class Showcase - drama project

Disclaimer - the BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites.

Title: Postcard Exchange (Commonwealth Day)
Learning Objective: To deepen pupil's understanding of the daily lives of pupils in our partner school in Ghana
Age range: Up to 11

School: Southfields Primary, Coventry, West Midlands
Teacher: Jo Hallett - Deputy Headteacher
Twinned with: Nyogbare School near Bolgatanga in the far north of Ghana

What you need: Postcards - can be blank and then drawn on by the pupils, or pictures, preferably your local area.

The Idea: For every Commonwealth Day - March 14th - each class produces three or four postcards to send to the pupils at Nyogbare. This year's theme was "issues that are of concern". Southfields children drew pictures and wrote about litter, graffiti, and the environment. They are then sent via a DHL mailing to Ghana to be delivered to the school on March 14th. On the same day the children in Britain receive a postcard package from Ghana. This year the pupils from Nyogbare told us about the problems they have with clean water supply.(Link Development co-ordinate this project)

Benefits:
- Increased understanding of each other's lives and different viewpoints of one subject
- Discussion points for all-class debate or an assembly
- An opportunity to discuss the meaning of Commonwealth
- The knowledge that both schools are focussing on each other, discussion the same issues on the same day

Issues:
- Funding for the postage
- Getting the postcards in the post in time for Commonwealth Day!

Title: Story Cassette Exchange
Age range: Up to 11

School: Southfields Primary, Coventry, West Midlands
Teacher: Jo Hallett - Deputy Headteacher
Twinned with: Nyogbare School near Bolgatanga in the far north of Ghana

What you need: Nyogbare is in a very rural location and there is no electricity. So that the school in Ghana have another medium of communication - Southfields Primary has bought them tape recorders and batteries.

The Idea: The main language for education in Ghana is English so the two schools now exchange tapes with children talking about themselves and their world and tapes of songs. The children in Britain make tape books too, which are carefully embellished with their own music and sound effects.

Teachers try to focus on areas of commonality where possible. The children exchange information about the pattern of their lives and their likes and dislikes and the games they play. Football seems to be an area which interests both sets of pupils.

Benefits:
- Each school is introduced to new stories and songs.
- Each school is contributing the same things - stories, songs, experiences
- The children hear each other speak, and find out about each others' lives
- They can demonstrate their creativity by making their own tapes

Issues:
- Initial outlay for recording equipment, cassettes and batteries.
- Postal links are possible, though it can take some time for letters to get to each destination.