Implementing Global Education in Everyday Lessons:
The use of global education does not have to be a grand effort; it can be implemented in daily instruction. It requires us as educators to be intentional when we plan our lessons. Below are examples of lesson plans and collaborative work I have developed or found that incorporate global perspectives into school activities. Click on the pictures to access the documents.
Toolkit:
This toolkit includes 5 lesson plans and activities that I created and used in my own classroom. Each of these activities builds global competencies into everyday learning. Again, global education does not have to be a complex effort. It can be as simple as you want it to be. The most important thing is to be intentional when planning your activities.
Inter-School Activity:
In this activity, I teamed up with a teacher in another state to complete a science project. First, I taught two lessons about animal and plant classification to my students. Then, we spent a day going on a nature walk to make observations and take photos. After that, we spent two days reading letters from the other teacher's class and writing letters back to them. To wrap up the project, we used the iNaturalist app to help students compare our local environment with the environment in Spotsylvania, Virginia.
This experience helped me see how tools like iNaturalist can make it easy to compare different environments and add global concepts to a science lesson. It really showed me how using real-world data can help my students understand new ideas.
Digital Teaching Tools:
Digital teaching tools are becoming an essential part of every classroom. Helping students use technology and digital resources to deepen their thinking is a vital part of navigating this AI era. To help leverage the technology era we live in, here is a breakdown of key digital platforms and tools that can elevate teaching practices:
Project Zero:
Project Zero (PZ) is a research center housed at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Its core mission is to understand and enhance high-level thinking, creativity, and deep understanding across all learners. It is a great platform if you are looking to teach your students how to deepen their thinking.
Edutopia:
Edutopia is a free online resource and community dedicated to showcasing what works in K-12 education. It focuses on real-world and hands-on practices.
Edutopia content is around what they call the Six Core Strategies for successful schools:
Project-Based Learning (PBL): Giving students real-world problems to solve over an extended period.
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL): Helping students develop self-awareness, empathy, and relationship skills (something crucial for all student populations).
Comprehensive Assessment: Moving beyond just multiple-choice tests to portfolios, performance tasks, and authentic rubrics.
Teacher Development: Providing practical tips, lesson design strategies, and peer-to-peer advice for educators.
Integrated Studies: Connecting different subjects (like science and art, or math and history) to make learning cohesive.
Technology Integration: Using digital tools purposefully to enhance learning, rather than just using tech for tech's sake.
Empatico:
Empatico is a library of online activities and games aimed at fostering empathy and understanding among students worldwide. The Empathy Framework promotes three dimensions of students’ empathy development: emotions, thoughts, and actions. Through Framework-aligned activities and virtual exchanges, students practice empathy toward themselves, others, and communities that are different from their own.
iNaturalist:
iNaturalist is a free, citizen-science platform and social network designed to help people map and share observations of biodiversity across the globe. Jointly run by the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society, it serves as both a handy field guide and a massive crowdsourced database for scientific research. At its core, it connects people to nature while generating high-quality open data for scientists.
Level Up Village:
The mission of Level Up Village is to globalize the classroom by facilitating cultural collaboration between students from around the world. Guided by carefully curated content, students build communication skills and collaborate with their global peers to explore topics in Arts & Sciences or Languages & Cultures through a safe and secure online platform. Through global connection courses, students will enhance their understanding of other cultures, strengthen their intercultural communication skills, and gain empathy.
Google Arts and Culture:
Google Arts and Culture is a free, non-profit initiative and platform that partners with thousands of the world's leading museums, archives, and cultural institutions to bring global art, history, and heritage online. Essentially, it acts as a massive digital museum, educational hub, and preservation project rolled into one, allowing anyone with an internet connection to explore the world's cultural treasures.
Local Community Resources:
In every state and city across the U.S., local resources exist to support global education and international awareness. By leveraging regional universities, non-profits, and cultural councils, communities can bridge the gap between local realities and global perspectives.
Here are some of the premier resources based right here in North Carolina:
Global NC:
Global NC is a nonprofit founded in 1979 by Governor James B. Hunt Jr. with the mission of connecting North Carolina to the world. The organization enhances the state's global engagement by offering international study and professional development programs for K–12 educators through its Global Teachers initiative, while also taking policymakers, business executives, and civic leaders abroad to examine global best practices in key industries like agriculture, clean energy, and workforce development. Global NC drives economic growth, fosters cross-cultural literacy, and advances strategic trade and education frameworks across the state.
World Affairs Council of Charlotte:
Founded in 1983 as an outreach program of UNC Charlotte, the World Affairs Council of Charlotte (WACC) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting international awareness and global education throughout the region. As a member of the World Affairs Councils of America, it fosters global understanding by hosting speaker series with foreign leaders, running academic competitions like WorldQuest, providing professional development grants for local educators, and offering global networking opportunities through its Young Professionals group and specialized international travel programs.
North Carolina Museum:
The North Carolina Museum of Art houses a permanent collection of over 4,000 works spanning 5,000 years of global human history across seven core curatorial areas. European collection, Judaic Art Gallery, Ancient Egyptian, Classical Greek and Roman, American and Contemporary collections, and Pre-Columbian American artifacts, alongside dynamic African wood carvings and royal metalwork. The museum features extended outdoors into the 164-acre Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park, the nation's largest monumental public art park.
The International Festival (Raleigh, NC):
The International Festival (Raleigh, NC) features live cultural performances (such as Spanish Flamenco, Brazilian Samba, Chinese Lion Dance, Indian Bollywood, and African Drumming), international food and beverage tastings, interactive cultural activities, scavenger hunts, and an international artisan bazaar marketplace.
(NCDPI) Global Education Initiative:
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) Global Education Initiative prepares public school students for an interconnected world by integrating global competencies, world language proficiency, and cultural connections directly into K–12 education. The framework awards formal recognitions to key stakeholders, including the Global Language Endorsement (NC’s Seal of Biliteracy) for high school graduates, the Global Educator Digital Badge for teachers who incorporate global standards into their instruction, and Global-Ready designations for schools and districts. Additionally, NCDPI advances these goals by maintaining international partnerships with countries like France, Spain, and Taiwan to support visiting educator exchanges, expanding Dual Language/Immersion programs, and providing open-access global curriculum resources.
UNC World View:
UNC World View is a public service global education outreach program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that equips K–12 and community college educators with the knowledge, resources, and professional development needed to integrate global perspectives into their classrooms. The program translates complex international issues into practical learning through symposia, global study visits, teacher fellowships, and student initiatives like the NC Scholar of Global Distinction program, helping prepare students to thrive in an interconnected world.