As part of The Global Read Aloud Project, seventh grade students at Salisbury Middle School connected with other middle school students globally by reading the same book.

The project was created in 2010 by Pernille Ripp “with a simple goal in mind; one book to connect the world. Now with many years under our belt and millions of connections made in more than 86 different countries, it is astounding to see the reach of this small idea. From its humble beginnings, the GRA has grown to make a truly global connection with millions of students having participated,” Ripp said.

Ripp said the premise is simple; “We pick a book to read aloud to our students during a set 6-week period and during that time we try to make as many global connections as possible. Each teacher decides how much time they would like to dedicate and how involved they would like to be. Some people choose to connect with just one class, while others go for as many as possible.”

This is the fifth year teacher Beth Prokesch has participated in the project.

“This assignment easily meets many facets of the district’s Portrait of a Graduate initiative as well as motivating the students to read, write and learn about other cultures and make connections with children and the authors while using a variety of tech programs: Twitter, slow chat, Skype, Mystery Skype, email, regular mail, Kidblog, Write About, Padlet, Flipgrid, Google Classroom and others,” Prokesch said.

“I have formed multiple connections with educators over the years through this program. I continue to work with them long after the GRA ends to develop meaningful ways for our students to further enrich their education of their world while meeting the standards and learning beliefs we expect our students to attain as a seventh grade student at SMS.”

Prokesch said her students begin reading in October of each year and end in mid-December.

The novel chosen at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year was “The Bridge Home” by Padma Venkatraman.

“Readers will be captivated by this beautifully written novel about young people who must use their instincts and grit to survive. Padma shares with us an unflinching peek into the reality millions of homeless children live every day but also infuses her story with hope and bravery that will inspire readers and stay with them long after turning the final page,” Aisha Saeed, author of The New York Times Bestselling “Amal Unbound” said on Amazon.

Prokesch read the first few chapters of the book to the students and then students took turns reading to the class to hone their public speaking skills.

An analysis was completed following each chapter. The students could take the book home if they didn’t finish their work in class.

The SMS students connected with a middle school in Virginia and France.

They first created video recordings about the book and put them on a group website.

They then wrote handmade postcards which had to relate to the book. All postcards had a drawing from something in the book.

Students Cameron Kubinsky and Laura Haldeman shared their experience with “The Bridge Home” recently.

“They chose good mature books for students our age,” Laura said. “As a teenager, you can relate to this book,” Cameron said.

The students have received many pieces of mail as a result of the Global Read Aloud Project.

The class received a photo of a class in France, a postcard from a student in Ann Arbor, Mich. which talked about the saddest part of the book, received a postcard from students in Dunkirk, N.Y., one hour south of Buffalo and postcards from Garland McMeans Junior High School in Katy, Texas, near Houston.

The writing project seems to have hit home with the students.

“I have written a letter to my grandmother in Michigan,” Laura said. “It’s not as fun to get a text. You can’t put in emotions.”

“I’ve been writing thank you notes to my family,” Cameron said. “It really makes you feel special to get a handwritten note.”

The students also did a Mystery Skype with another class about the book and had to guess where the students they were talking to were located.

Laura wore a North Carolina shirt during the Skype call so as to not give away the SMS location.

SMS students discovered they were talking to students in Kentucky and won bragging rights for guessing their location first.

The students also connected with Northwood Public School in North Dakota.

By the end of February, the students had received 60 postcards from students in all 50 states and other countries.

The students also have pen pals in France.

“We are teaching them English and they are teaching us French,” Laura said.

Ripp reported there were more than 4 million students involved in The Global Read Aloud Project this year from more than 80 different countries.

“With the continued support from my principal Ken Parliman and technical support from John Landis, my students have been able to have successful connections and develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for literature and global issues through The Global Read Aloud Project,” Prokesch said.