Mrs. Pietig's second grade class waves hello to Ms. Rebecca Roth, who told students about German holiday traditions via Skype from Berlin.
For students in Angie Pietig’s second grade class, learning about holiday customs meant more than just reading about them in books. Using Skype, the students were able to talk to a teacher in Germany and gain first-hand knowledge about traditions halfway around the world.
The students talked with Rebecca Roth, a former German teacher in Marshalltown who currently lives and teaches in Berlin, Germany. Franklin media specialist Jae Dwyer arranged the conversation with Roth after talking with Mrs. Pietig about her class’s unit on “Holidays Around the World.”
Mrs. Pietig’s students gathered in the media center Tuesday afternoon at 2:20pm to talk with Ms. Roth in Germany (9:20pm local time).
Ms. Roth showed the students photos of Christmas markets and tree decorating traditions. She also took questions from students about different German traditions. The students also learned a little German during the process, telling Ms. Roth “guten tag” (Good day) and “Danke” (Thank you).
