Wikipedia |
One student inquired, “So this a kingdom? Where are the forests and horses?” I responded by using Google Earth to show students Bahrain’s location in the Persian Gulf. The country’s climate is arid with an average annual rainfall of 2.8 inches (Ministry of Transportation Kingdom of Bahrain). Using an interactive map, the class compared Bahrain’s current temperature to that of our home state, Kentucky. They were surprised to find that in November, Bahrain had a day-time temperature of 87 degrees Fahrenheit. It happened to be just 36 degrees in southern Kentucky that day. The website, thetruesize.com, let students drag and drop Kentucky over Bahrain to compare their relative size. Students gasped when they saw how much bigger Kentucky is than the Kingdom of Bahrain (40,114.02 square miles bigger to be exact.)
The True Size Of... |
Students began to appreciate that Earth’s
geography is quite complex. Many places look and feel much different than what
students know and understand. Governments can also be different. The United
States is a democracy. America is also a republic where the chief of state (the
president) is elected by the people. This is dissimilar from a monarchy like
that of Bahrain, where the throne is inherited through a family dynasty (Scholastic).
With the help of geo-tools and
information from credible sources, I finally convinced students that Bahrain is
in fact a kingdom. I even displayed a picture of Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al
Khalifah who was declared sovereign when Bahrain became a kingdom in 2002 (BBC News).
Manama is the capital of Bahrain Wikimedia Commons |
TEACH Bahrain Fellowship
I am one of ten educators to be
selected for the 10th Annual Teachers Educating Across Cultures in Harmony(TEACH) Fellowship. The Fellowship takes place November 15-21, 2018 in the
Kingdom of Bahrain. This year’s Fellows represent academic institutions from
ten different states across America. During our active study tour across
Bahrain, we will encounter invaluable opportunities for hands-on collaboration
with regional learning authorities and will be immersed in Bahrain's rich
culture and heritage.
The TEACH Fellowship was launched
in 2009 by the Bilateral U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce. The program provides
U.S. educators an opportunity to visit the Middle East and gain insight into
the culture, the challenges, and the opportunities experienced by their peers.
Through personal communications and professional exchanges, Fellows inspire a
new sense of purpose that ignites new possibilities for their students and
their communities. I plan to share my experience through lesson plans,
community programs, national education conferences, and personal exchanges.
Pre-Departure Research
Students conducted research on Bahrain using Encyclopedia Britannica, results from Kiddle (a safe search engine), and Google Earth. |
Students took notes about Bahrain from videos and online articles. They posted facts about Bahrain around the library for everyone to see. |
A group of students use the library's LEGO wall to construct a Bahrain skyscraper: Four Seasons Hotel. |
A student used Microsoft Word to write a school announcement which she read over the intercom. |
Students created digital posters using Canva and Adobe Spark. They used these graphics to share their research on Bahrain with other classes. |
Students used the app, ChatterPix to create a 20-second audio recording of Bahrain's flag telling facts about its country.
I applaud my elementary school students on their
research and digital products. Before working with primary aged students, I had
misconceptions about their abilities. I thought they were too inexperienced to engage
in independent research. You see, we all have misconceptions about a wide array
of topics. It is important that we remember to approach life and work with an open-mind. My
students are doing it. After all, they now know that a kingdom can exist in a desert in the
year 2018.