Teaching third graders is like trying to hold a conversation with 20 squirrels at once: they’re curious, energetic, and constantly asking questions about the world around them. Which is why Paola Tedesco, a third-grade homeroom teacher I met at Miami Country Day School in Miami, Florida, figured—why not help them actually see some of it?
“I wanted my students to understand that the world is so much bigger than Miami,” she said. “Our school is pretty international, and I wanted them to start thinking beyond their own backyard.”
For Paola, the motivation to connect her students with peers across the world came from her own experience navigating cultural identities. “My mom’s Colombian, my dad’s Italian, and I’m here in Miami—this huge melting pot. But still, sometimes you feel like people forget about your own culture, or you feel like the odd one out.”
She realized her students could probably relate. “So many of them are from international backgrounds or speak more than one language. I wanted them to feel seen, but also to see other kids who were different from them and feel that connection.”
Paola had a friend she used to teach with in Colombia who was now a principal at a school in China. “I reached out to her and asked, like, would you be willing to do kind of like a pen-pal thing? And she was like, ‘Yeah, I’d do it in a heartbeat. I love the idea.’”
It wasn’t all smooth sailing from there. Paola quickly realized that time zones make a live Zoom call between Miami and China nearly impossible. “Because of the time difference between like the US and China, it made it really hard,” she said. “So that’s when we thought about, okay, let’s send each other videos.”
Paola, as you may realize, advocates for the values that guide us in running our Level Up Courses with elementary school students. While some teachers may find the classes for younger learners seem daunting, read on for Paola’s motivation and you’ll see that this critical time in youngsters actually proves to be a great moment in their lives to broaden their horizons!
Keeping it Simple and Fun
Level Up Instructors who initially think third graders would struggle with a program like this, or that the tech might get in the way, will delight in how Paola found that it was surprisingly easy to get the kids engaged.
“We started small,” Paola explained. “They brainstormed questions they wanted to ask their new friends—simple stuff like ‘What do you want to know about your friends?’”
She started gathering their questions through Padlet, while the teacher in China did the same. “I created a slideshow video and sent it to them. They created one back, and that’s how we started collaborating back and forth.”
The kids’ curiosity drove the conversation. “We found some very common questions. A lot of them were about Miami. I don’t know why, but people are interested in Miami,” Paola laughed. “So, I was like, okay, a big part of who we are is where we’re from. So we created this slideshow about Miami and sent it over.” Note this strategy, which could be a great way to prepare younger students for the video-making process, because it allows them to collect images, photos they want to share of their family and home, that could then easily be used as stills.
But it wasn’t just about sharing facts and figures. The kids were excited to talk about their own lives and compare them to the students in China.
“It turned out that the Chinese students were learning about biomimicry. And we were also doing something similar,” Paola explained. “So, we started sharing things that had to do with the activities we had done. We found common points or connections.” Common connections are the bread and butter of our asynchronous video exchanges, and Level Up’s courses grant educators a wide array of topics through which students can identify.
Tech Woes and Workarounds
Of course, even a simple exchange with young students has its challenges, many of which we’ve enumerated on this blog before, and some we have yet to explore.
As we’ve said, time zones can always be a challenge for live video, and some countries like China will often block certain methods of file sharing, so a closed platform like Level Up Village can often be the optimal place for teachers to share their videos.
Despite the hurdles, Paola’s kids were all in. They wanted to share everything—their drawings, their school projects, what their neighborhoods looked like. And they wanted to know the same things about their new friends.
“It was like the world just opened up for them,” Paola said. “They were learning that while everyone is different, we all have so much in common.”
Moments That Matter
What Paola loved most was seeing her students’ excitement. One of her favorite moments came when her class sent over a video introducing themselves and answering their Chinese peers’ questions.
“It was my favorite moment because they were so excited,” she said. “Even though it was on a video, it was like they were right there. And for me, the biggest takeaway was that they understood what it means to be a global citizen. We talked a lot about identity — about being proud of where you come from but also understanding and appreciating other perspectives.”
The program gave her students something tangible to connect with. “They’re not nervous about talking to kids from other countries. They’re curious. They just want to know what other kids their age are like.”
Why Starting Young Makes a Difference
Paola believes that starting kids young with virtual exchanges is the key to building empathy and curiosity.
“Kids need to feel heard and respected for who they are,” she said. “And when they connect with other kids from different backgrounds, it helps them see that other perspectives are just as valid as their own.”
And while Paola is thrilled her kids are picking up new vocabulary and learning about other cultures, she’s even happier that they’re finding their own voices.
“We would always reflect on it, and I would tell them, ‘This is what it means to be a global citizen. You are one. Because you’re learning about people from other places, but you’re also sharing your own story.’”
Keeping It Going
Now, Paola’s classroom has made these exchanges a regular part of their learning experience. She’s always on the lookout for new ways to make the connections more meaningful—and encourages other teachers to do the same.
“My advice? Start small. It doesn’t have to be complicated. If you have a connection with a teacher somewhere else, reach out. Your students will love it. They’re learning so much more than just facts about another country. They’re learning empathy, communication, and that their voice matters.”
Level Up Village offers a wide array of courses that kick things off with students in elementary school. So if you’re like Paola, working with the youngest learners, or overseeing programming for a lower school, ask yourself if one of the LUV courses for our littlest learners might help them get excited about connecting with friends awaiting them across the globe!
