World Tour

One of the biggest events of the year at my school is World Tour. Each classroom works on a specific country all year and presents what they know at on World Tour Day. Students learn everything from language and culture to geography and political standing. They decorate their classroom to resemble their countries and create art and artifacts from its culture. It is a huge undertaking, but a great way for students to fully engage. They explore the country, use the information to create elements, and present to their schoolmates and parents on World Tour Day.

This year my pre-kindergarten class had the Netherlands. Here are some snapshots of what the classroom looked like and short explanations on what kinds of skills were used for each feature.

The students worked together to create the final version of this information board. I compiled photos and information about the tulip industry in the Netherlands into a Powerpoint presentation. The text was simple so the students could read it aloud. We stopped and made observations or asked questions often during the Powerpoint. Afterwards each students wrote about the tulip life cycle and we compiled their best work into the final draft. During World Tour students mentioned that the Netherlands grows 3 billion tulip bulb each year.

Here is our dike and windmill corner. (To see how we make the tulips, check out this link.) We introduced the need for dikes and windmills through the Dutch folk tale, "The Cat and the Cradle." Once the students understood the issues facing the Dutch people, I introduced dikes and windmills through another brief Powerpoint, also easily read by the students. Each student wrote their own summary about dikes and windmills before working together to create the board below. Around the same time, we heard and retold another Dutch folk tale, "The Dutch Boy Who Wanted More Cheese" to make the connection between dikes, windmills, and farming. 

The class also learned about the Dutch textile industry and the flax process. This topic was introduced through the Dutch fairy tale "Spin Head and Snow White." I found a video about the flax process on Youtube that was not too complicated. We watched it several times, stopping often to ask questions and discuss. We also grew our own flax plants from seed, though unfortunately not early enough to see flowers! 

The students learned a bunch more about the Netherlands (Van Gogh, delftware, the Peace Palace in the Hague, and Amsterdam), through a variety of sources including folk tales, videos, and photos. On the day of, the students were veritable fountains of information!