Students in Mrs. Scharffenberg's 1st grade class had a chance to meet students in Dyersberg, Tennessee. Through Google Hangouts, two teachers were able to break down their classroom walls to have their students meet each other. These teachers and students are participating in "The Global Read Aloud" where they read the same book and discuss it with each other. The book that they discussed was "Whoever You Are" by Mem Fox.
Before the Hangout, Mrs. Scharffenberg read the book aloud to her students. They discussed the similarities and differences in the book, then the things that we all in common and those things that make us different.
At the beginning of the Google Hangout, students went back and forth asking each other questions about their school, town and state. Then, they asked each other questions about the book.
 What is the Global Read Aloud?
The premise is simple; we pick a book to read aloud to our students during a set 6-week period and during that time we try to make as many global connections as possible. Each teacher decides how much time they would like to dedicate and how involved they would like to be. Some people choose to connect with just one class, while others go for as many as possible. The scope and depth of the project is up to you. While there are official tools you can use such as Skype, Twitter, WriteAbout or Edmodo, you choose the tools that will make the most sense for you. Teachers get a community of other educators to do a global project with, hopefully inspiring them to continue these connections through the year. (Source)
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Love this! Global learning and connecting is so important even in the younger grades.
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