It’s easy to teach English Language Arts (ELA) with the One Globe Kids Friendship Curriculum.
Your students will learn essential reading comprehension, speaking and listening, language and writing skills while learning about the world we share.

Rich in language and images

Each One Globe Kids story is incredibly rich in language and full of powerful photos. Through the lessons, students will meet new friends from other countries and learn in-depth about life in those places. They will visit Jenissa in her home in Burundi, Central Africa, and Lucian in his home in New York City. Both of these stories feature real children, who play with their siblings, help at home, and go out in their neighborhoods – so similar and yet also so unique.
The stories naturally prompt students to reflect upon the information in the photos and text, to think about their own assumptions, and to make connections between themselves and their friend in the story.

Critical thinking

Throughout the curriculum, critical thinking and discussion is prompted through simple questions about each story, such as:
  • What do you wonder about our new friend when you look at this picture?
  • Describe the people in the story. What are they doing? Where do you think they are going? Why?
  • What do you think will happen next? What do you wonder about where they are from?
  • What are some things you would write about in your own autobiography?
  • What do you think the friend in the story would want to know about you and your family?
When these questions are paired with a real-life story told by a real child using real photos, student thinking is stimulated in a new way. Through extensive exposure to the personal stories of peers around the globe, students learn to think about the world and their place in it.

Projects for writing, speaking and listening

The curriculum is full of projects that prompt students to reflect upon and write about specific aspects of their family and community. Here are a few examples of projects that are part of the Friendship Curriculum.
  • Me Museum – In Kindergarten, students create a “Me Museum” filled with objects and drawings of things that are special to them. Students practice speaking and listening as classmates share about their Me Museum with each other.
  • Community Booklet – In first grade, students create a booklet about their own community and the community of a One Globe Kids friend. Through this project students practice writing and identifying similarities and differences.
  • Citizen Game – In second grade, students work together to create a game about their own country, the countries they’ve visited with One Globe Kids and how to be kind, considerate and respectful citizens.

ELA alignment

It’s easy to make sure you’re using One Globe Kids to meet ELA standards. Every lesson in the Friendship Curriculum meets ELA standards that align with the College and Career Ready Anchor Goals and the Common Core Standards. For each grade there is an alignment table overview and you’ll also find the ELA alignments listed on each lesson.

Integrating ELA and global education

Our unique approach uses diverse, non-fiction stories from around the world to teach ELA. The Global Friendship Curriculum is free for all teachers so spread the word!