My friends and family
Module Description

Who-Am-I? home | Program overview |
Teacher module menu | Workshop

Art in memory of a good friend who passed away... Bolivia , 2003

Module Description: 

"My Friends and Family" is part of an overall program called, "Who Am I?" The goal of the complete program is to bring new learning opportunities into your already existing curriculum areas using technologies available today. The program aims to bring you and your students into the global community using the Internet where they will find real world meanings for school tasks. Students will work collaboratively with new found friends around the world. Topics are designed around student interests and as such are a means to producing learner outcomes. 

My Friends and Family

All of us need people around us, people whom we love, like, or even dislike. Relationships among people can certainly get complicated, but they are always fascinating. In this "My Friends and Family" module we will talk about friends and families. 

• What is the best way to make a friend? 
  How can we keep good friendships? 
  When we have problems with friends, how do we resolve them?  
  And how can we avoid disputes in the first place?

Our families have many different customs and standards, but they are our families and will be for our entire lives. Some of our family members are old, and some of them die. Others are born, and we learn to know them. We ourselves have important roles within the family. 

• What are those roles?  
  Do we like our roles or would we like to change them? 
  What can we do to make our families better?  
  How can we help other family members feel that they are all part of something that is important and good?

In "My Friends and Family" we will focus on friendship and caring, topics that are extremely important, right now, for kids and for those who are closest to them. But we will try, also, to look toward the future, toward ways to build better, more satisfying relationships. 

You will find many discussion questions and classroom activities in each weekly lesson. No one is expected to do them all! We give you many ideas but feel free to use those that are appropriate for your class. 

Teachers are encouraged to use their own imagination and ideas within this project. The description is only a guide but other things related to the topic are always welcome. 

Module Goals

• Develop critical thinking.
• Create awareness of own behaviour.
• Find ways to solve conflicts between friends or in the family.
• Use the computer to learn about our cultural diversities and similarities.
• Collaborate with and learn from other students online.

Module Objectives

Students will:

• Have a better understanding of our friends and families.
• Notice the importance of our friends and families in our lives.
• Identify qualities we believe all good friends should have.
• Provide examples of how to resolve disputes.
• Justify and defend own opinions.
• Work together in groups within their classrooms and also within groups of online students.
• Use the writing process to inform and express personal ideas.
• Apply information for problem solving in new contexts.
• Read e-mail messages and respond to what others write.
• Engage in real time interactions using IRC.

How to Join This Module

Time Line
Northern and Southern Hemisphere Dates