Perhaps I am from the old school of entering contests and can’t pass up a good one. Once to encourage my daughter at age 9 to write I paid £15 for her to enter a story in the Mogford Annual Writing Contest in Oxford. She was somewhat encouraged and did meet the deadline then afterwards asked each day if we had the results. Three months later we learned her entry did not win. For me it was still a win as she achieved writing a complete story with a beginning, middle and end and submitted in time for the deadline.
As a teacher I was always on the lookout for opportunities for my students to engage in external opportunities. I find that these experiences validate the learning we do in class. Also these external projects when engaging on a global scale connect me with some amazing professional development resources and my students with other learners all keen to learn more and make a contribution to address a common challenge.
For example this organization: World of 8 Billion, last year it was 7 billion runs a video making contest each year. The contest encourages kids to create videos that address the challenges of population rise on particular issues such as climate change, gender equality and waste. The contest includes a lot of fabulous support material for both contestants and teachers. It encourages creative problem solving and being able to message key ideas via video production. On the site one can see past examples to know what is expected and in the end there is a big virtual celebration showcasing the winning films. This contest has just launched and students have until 22Feb23.
Another group to look out for is the Jacob’s Foundation PACT contest. They have run projects for the last three years. Usually they launch in January and students have until May to finish. Here is the link to sign up.
One of my favorites is Global Social Leaders– this group is dedicated to bringing about a catalyst to promote change in the younger generations. They offer teacher training and annual competition encouraging student teams to take action and report on their impact. Student groups take on a variety of different projects relevant to their location and interest. Their reports are read by a team of volunteers that provide them some feedback and comments aligned to a common rubric. This year’s contest has not yet launched so stay tuned and check out the resources.
When students participate in an activity that goes beyond their own local environment it elevates their learning to another level and contributes to their becoming global citizens.
Are you aware of other national or international contests students may enjoy participating in? Please share in the comments!
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