American and French students used a “culture tree” framework to introduce themselves to each other and highlight elements of their personal culture according to the culture tree created by Zaretta Hammond. It consists in representing all the aspects of your culture in a tree divided into 3 levels as you can see in the picture below :

Students talked about their hobbies, family traditions, favorite books and TV shows, personality traits, worldviews, customs, and beliefs. Each student—in Courbevoie and in Chicago—created a presentation to discuss about themselves and their culture. The students then exchanged their presentations to learn more about each other. You can have a look at their work in the padlet here

The students in Chicago also sent us a short video showing “A Day in the Life of a Lane Tech Student.” They told us about their routines, what subjects they take, and what they are learning in their English class. Then, we matched up the students to create pen pals. Each student in Courbevoie received a letter from a student in Chicago ! In the letters, students got the chance to know each other one-on-one. The American students talked about their favorite subjects and what they do outside of school. They also asked the French students some questions about French culture !

The students in Courbevoie read their letters in English and got to meet the Chicago students’ teacher, Ms. F. They asked her lots of questions about her students and the things they wrote in their letters. Then they wrote letters back. The Courbevoie students talked about their favorite school subjects and their hobbies and traditions. They answered the American students’ questions about French culture. The letters were written entirely in English ! You can read their letters here

Thank you to the students in Courbevoie and Chicago for a great project ! We hope you all stay in touch and continue to learn more about each other.

By Clare Ulmer (language assistant) and Mrs Ghodbane