Students and Parents,

I write this to you to try and help explain the thoughts behind the assignment that I have
just given you. Often times we can get caught up in the ideas, beliefs, and events that are
happening in our neighborhood, city and our so-called “bubble”. Now this is not something that
we should feel guilty about, however it is something that we should strive to change, because at
the end of the day the goal is to continue to improve not only as students, but as humans as
well. The goal of this project is to help expand your child’s knowledge about countries, cultures,
and ideas that are unfamiliar to them. Your children will also learn about problems that people,
including children their age, are experiencing in those countries, and what they can do, even as
ten and eleven year olds can do to help try and solve those problems.
As important as it is for me that your students leave my classroom knowing the
essentials of reading, writing and math, it is just as important that they leave being globally
educated as well. This is a much simpler idea then it might seem. Being globally educated
means a few things. It means that your student begins to gain knowledge of different cultures
around the globe. Your student will also begin to look at the historical, political, economic and
environmental relationships between different cultures and peoples. Finally, your student will
further their empathy and tolerance of other people and cultures. It is important to me, just as
I’m sure it is to you, that the “whole” child be educated and this is exactly what Global Education
does.
The question that you may be asking is “Why is Global Education” important? Why does
my child need it? That’s a fair question, one that deserves to be answered. Global Education is
important because as your children grow older, and even now to a certain extent, them amount
of interactions that they will have with people who perhaps don’t look like them, or come from
the same places as them, will continue to increase. Your student will also deepen their
understanding of how their actions and decisions impact others. Lastly, we would be lying to
ourselves if we didn’t admit that the current climate for certain groups of people and cultures
needed improvement. It was Martin Luther King Jr. who talked about the importance of
“Remaining Awake” through a revolution. He discussed the importance of not only being awake
through that revolution, but also being on the “right side” of that revolution. Global education will
help to ensure that your student is on the rights side during the revolution that is currently
happening not only in the United States, but globally as well.
This project will take place in two parts. In the first part of the project your child will take
part in a “book buffet” in which they are able to select a novel that will feature a character that
lives in a place that your student is not familiar with, and comes from a culture that your student
will most likely know little to nothing about. After your student has selected the book they will
read that book on their own timetable. The second portion of the assignment comes after they
finish reading the book, they will create a presentation providing two things. One, details about
the country their book was set in, these details could include population, national language and
others. Two, a problem or issue that is taking place in that country and how your child and our
class could contribute to solving that problem. This presentation could take place through a
powerpoint, poster board or any other mode that is has been pre-approved.
 I hope that this letter has explained what Global Education is, why it is important and
how your child will benefit from it. As always if there you have any questions, I am here and
more than happy to answer them.
Mr. Sportel

Project Description

1. The first part of this assignment is a “Book Buffet”. You will take 10 minutes to walk
around, examine, and finally choose a book to read and create your project on. Most if
not all of these books will feature settings, cultures and ideas that you may not be
familiar with. That is okay, in fact it is the whole point of the project, to force you outside
of your comfort zone. If you have spent any time in the country that the book takes place
in, or you are familiar with the culture or religion of the main character, I strongly
encourage you to choose another book. It is more fun to learn about new places, people
and ideas. Push yourself to learn about someplace, someone or something new. The
books are listed below.
a. Dragon’s Gate​ by Lawrence Yep
b. Red Butterfly b ​ y A.L. Sonnichsen
c. Inside Out and Back Again​ by Thanhhà Lai
d. Heart of a Samurai ​by Margi Preus
e. The Master Puppeteer ​by Katherine Paterson
f. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes ​by Eleanor Coerr
g. Ahimsa b ​ y Supriya Kelkar
h. Between Sisters b ​ y Adwoa Badoe
i. The Mzungu Boy ​by Meja Mwangi
j. The Red Pencil b ​ y Andrea Davis Pinkney
k. Habibi b​ y Naomi Shihab Nye
l. A Little Piece of Ground​ by Elizabeth Laird
m. Oranges In No Mans Land b ​ y Elizabeth Laird
n. Forest World​ by Margarita Engle
o. Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba​ by Margarita Engle
p. Behind the Mountain​ by Edwidge Danticat
q. Tonight By Sea​ by Frances Temple
r. Amina’s Voice b ​ y Hena Khan
s. A Long Pitch Home b ​ y Natalie Dias Lorenzi
 t. Call me Maria ​by Judith Ortiz Cofer
2. Once you have selected a book from this list it is your responsibility to read it
independently. This can take place at school during independent reading time, indoor
recess or other times. It can also take place at home with your family, you could read it
to your parents or siblings. As you read your book take notes (not inside the book
though!) about what stands out to you. Think about the similarities and differences
between your life and the characters in the book. How are the problems that the
characters face in their lives similar or different to the problems that you face? How, if at
all do they solve these problems? The better and more in-depth your notes are, the
easier the last part of this project will be to complete.
3. Finally, after you have finished reading your book you will complete a presentation that
explains two things to your classmates.
a. The first thing that you will describe is the country that your main character is
from. Or if your book takes place in America, but your main character wasn’t
originally born in America describe the country that the were born in or their
family is from. (So if the story is set in New York, but your character immigrated
from Japan, you’ll do a report on Japan) For example, if my book took place in
Puerto Rico I would need to provide some information about that country. This
information should include things like the capital of the country, the population,
what is the native language of the country and other important facts, like what
people do for work and what type of geography.
b. The second thing that will be in your presentation is a problem that is either
taking place in your character's’ country or an issue that their religion or race is
suffering from. These would look like this:
i. Country: Hugo is born in Puerto Rico. There is a huge drought in Puerto
Rico and crops are dying. This is a problem that impacts ​A COUNTRY.
ii. Religion: Joshua is Jewish during the Holocaust. Jewish people
everywhere are being rounded up and brought to Concentration Camps.
This is a problem that impacts ​A RELIGION.
iii. Race: Sarah is African-American during slavery. She is forced to work on
a plantation and is treated terribly because she is African-American. This
is a problem that impacts ​A RACE.
Once you have found the problem that your character is having, whether it be a
country, religious or racial problem you will need to come up with a solution that you could help
with. Make sure that the solution ​COULD ACTUALLY HAPPEN​​. So if there was an issue, you
couldn’t just say “I would give a million dollars to help” unless you actually have a million dollars.
Potential solutions could be starting a fundraiser to raise money, raising awareness (which
means make sure people know about the problem), starting a food drive, or something as
simple as writing letters to politicians who could help. If you think “my characters problem is
already solved, it happened so long ago” I would encourage you to do more research and see if
that’s actually true or more likely, the problem has just changed and become another one. Think
about this, even though slavery is over, are African-Americans always treated equally in the
United States?
 Your presentation could take form in many different ways. You could of course create a
PowerPoint or a Google Slides presentation. You could also use a poster board, but just like the
rest of this project I encourage you to think out of the box. As long as you are able to fulfill all of
the requirements I am okay with whatever mode of presentation that you pick. If you are unsure
that you will be able to complete the project with the choice you make, make sure that you ask
Mr. Sportel and we can have a conversation about your idea.

A good presentation will:

● Provide information about the country your character lives in or is
originally from.
● Highlight a problem that either the country, race or religion that your
character is from, is or believes in, is experiencing.
● Present a reasonable solution to that problem. Remember, this solution
should be something that you and your class is able to actually do. Also,
don’t worry if your solution doesn’t solve the whole problem, you’re trying
and want to help, and that’s what really matters.
● Show evidence that you read and took notes on the book that you chose.
● Be completed and turned in on time.
As always if you have any questions about any part of this assignment I am more than happy to
help in anyway possible. The purpose of this assignment is to not only come up with a solution
to a problem that millions of people could be going through in the world, but to also push you
outside of your comfort zone. You should learn new things that change the way that you view
entire countries, races, cultures and religions. Make sure to go into this project with an open
mind, but more importantly an open heart.