Description
The planned project ”Vikings and Slavs: the past, the present, the future” aims at gaining a better understanding of the history of the involved countries in order to discover similarities. the involved schools will conduct research on migration destinations, the merging of culture and traditions. Pupils will compare the profiles of modern Vikings and Slavs with those from the past and will conduct a survey in the local area. The schools are planning to produce a film about expatriates from involved countries living in a partner country. Teachers and pupils will try to frame directions in further development of relationship between our countries and societies. The pupil exchanges will take place to allow for development of key competences through joint work. Each visit will aim at a different kind of activity. In Poland it will be building model ships and a performance based on Viking legends, while in Norway pupils will work on cloths and ceramics, exploring everyday Viking society and attempting to experience it themselves in Landa Park.
Summary of project results
The overall objective was to favor mobility, develop English language skills and learn the basics of the partner countries' mother tongues through joint work and research on history and present day life. The number of mobilities was much higher than expected and more pupils were involved in the project work at school and during the visit of the Norwegian team in Poland. The joint work during meetings helped develop English oral skills and the research on history and modern life of Vikings and Slavs developed reading and writing skills as well. The Norwegians easily acquired some basic Polish. There were originally only two visits planned, but the school managed to organize an additional third visit to Norway. the school also organized a three-day trip to Polish archaeological parks for both Norwegian and Polish pupils (22 in total). An English mock exam was distributed during the project and its results showed that the group engaged in the project had better scores than their peers who didn't participated in any form of international cooperation. Additional achieved results include: 1) eTwinning partnership - a platform for communication and collaboration, exchange of info and material (
http://new-twinspace.etwinning.net/web/p102748); 2) a list of books and articles and websites concerning Vikings and Slaves: students used this resource to work on PowerPoint presentations that were presented in both schools and some of them uploaded into TwinSpace; 3) the Book of Vikings - a special presentation on Vikings, their life and travels, ships and armors, made by Polish pupils and exhibited in the school premises during the visit of Norwegian partners; 4) pottery based on exhibits form museums in Poland and Norway, handmade in G18 and in Lyngdal by both Polish and Norwegian pupils; 5) Viking tunics, belts, accessories made by pupils of both schools at workshops in Lyngdal; 6) the performance "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" prepared by Polish pupils and performed during the visit of the Norwegian team in Wroclaw; 7) decorations resulting from joint work; 8) a photo book documenting the project, edited in G18, and published in Polish in 40 copies.
Summary of bilateral results
The Polish school has been cooperating with Lyngdal Ungomsskole since 2007. However, previous projects were carried out with an old school, which was small. The new school, in new premises, was formed from the merger of two previous schools operating in the Lyngdal commune. This new school had not been involved in any international cooperation in the past so the Polish-Norwegian project was a new experience for them. The Norwegian project group was multi-ethnic and multicultural, so through the project work the migrant pupils learned more of their new home country and saw it in wider scope as a part of Europe, it's culture and traditions. The partner school in Lyngdal contributed to the project with their labs and two teachers entirely devoted to project work. As of spring 2015 it appears that the partnership will open the doors for future joint activities, both formal and informal.