Erin Warren’s first-grade class at Lanier Primary School recently “took flight” as students learned about the seven continents. Her students received construction-paper tickets, passports and cereal-box suitcases to travel down the hallway to take flight from their classroom.

Warren began the experience with a story about travel in which students compared and contrasted fiction and nonfiction and used a smartboard to see and hear what an plane ride would be like. Thanks to the Internet, students viewed the Statue of Liberty and other sights in New York City before leaving North America. In South America, they discussed Carnaval and native dance. While in Antarctica, the students made snowball facts. They saw kangaroos and made boomerangs in Australia and enjoyed peanut butter and jelly sushi in Asia. As they flew into Europe, they learned how to say “hello” in different languages. Lastly, they visited Africa, where they made African necklaces and looked at the deserts on Google Earth.

Warren incorporated reading, English, math and social studies as she taught students about the various cultures of the seven continents through technology and creativity without ever leaving their classroom.