We Are the World: Discovering Kindness Across Cultures

Teacher introduces the 'We are the world, as global neighbors' project by explaining that students will learn kind words, greetings, and cultural practices from children in another country.

Students watch a short welcome video showing children from different countries saying hello and sharing what they enjoy, discussing what excites them and what they already know about other cultures.

Teacher explains the four-week journey and partner class expectations, using a visual timeline on the Board so students understand what they will do each week.

Class discusses questions like 'What do you want to learn about other countries?' and 'What kind words do you use every day?' to activate prior knowledge and build curiosity.

Teacher guides students to explore the driving question: 'What kind words and ways of being neighbors do we use in our country, and how are they similar to or different from those in our partner country?', writing the question on the Board for reference.

Class brainstorms kind words they use every day (please, thank you, sorry, excuse me, you're welcome) and lists them on a shared Google Doc or Padlet, discussing when and why they use each word.

Class discusses cultural customs or etiquette practices they follow (like removing shoes, greeting elders respectfully, sharing food) and students draw or describe one custom they want to share with the partner class.

Teacher compiles all student work into a cohesive class 'Kindness Guide' document or digital presentation to share with the partner class on the Project Board.

We look into the culture of cooperation with our neighbors and compare those examples between partner counties. Students can understand the cooperative cultures of various countries and envision how partner countries can cooperate.

The countries participating in this activity write and decorate the sentence "We are the world" and take a commemorative photo. Then, they continue with photos of the next countries.

Students complete a simple reflection activity using guiding questions posted on the Board: 'What kind word from the partner country is your favorite and why?', 'How are children in our partner country similar to us?', and 'What did you learn about being a good neighbor?'

Students create a 'Thank You' message or drawing for the partner class expressing gratitude for sharing their culture and kindness, personalizing it with their own words or illustrations.

Students record a short audio or video message (20-30 seconds) saying thank you in a word or phrase from the partner language, practicing pronunciation with the teacher's guidance.