Playing together in our European dream city Erasmus Project

Project Title

Playing together in our European dream city

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2014

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Creativity and culture; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy

Project Summary

The project “Playing together in our European dream city” involved 6 primary schools from Italy, Germany, Belgium, Crete, Spain and Finland that used ICT and Social Media, innovative practices and methodologies, founded on collaboration, to develop a greater awareness of Europe and a European sense of identity. Working with countries from Europe has provided the “real” experience, a powerful learning tool. Through the project activities the participating schools have encouraged the languages learning necessity, the ICT creativity prospect and the method of students teaching other students.
The project has enlarged our educational background knowledge, has helped us all to create a better cultural and linguistic context which has given us the opportunity to enrich our creativity and professional standards and has added a European dimension to our citizenship.
We achieved these goals starting from the study of our hometown and then, using a spiral progression approach, our own region and our own country, comparing our main features with those of the partners cities/countries.
We used a wide range of ICT tools and social media, innovative practices and methods (CLIL, flipped classroom, gamification), teaching strategies to actively engage students in their learning process, including group discussions, problem solving, peer-tutoring, cooperative e-book writing, and structured learning groups.
During the 1st year the students exchanged information and pictures about their hometown, focusing their attention on geographical features, historical background, languages spoken, interesting places and monuments, jobs, typical food, famous people.
During the 2nd year the project’s activities were focused on the wider context of one’s own region, analyzing the geographical features, natural resources, population and productive activities (agriculture, industrial development, tourism).
During the 3rd year the children exchanged information about their own country, focusing their attention on the capital city and peculiar aspects of their culture. They developed the awareness of being part of a bigger context, the European Union and have reflected on the values we need to share in order to live as active European citizens. Comparing the positive and negative aspects of their own city/country/culture and those of the partners they arrived at a shared view of a “dream city” inspired on the European values.
Each year the children have produced educational paper-based games and digital games about their own town/region/country to make their European friends get acquainted with their environment and culture; factfiles, PPTs, pictures, videos, texts and reflections were posted and shared on the partnership website (www.eurodreamcity.eu) . At the end of the third year the children of all schools involved have produced a final paper-based game “Eudropolis” taking into consideration the best aspects of each country to express their view of a European dream city. They also produced an E-book about friendship and the story is set in a dream city.
The students had video chats via Skype with the students of the partners countries at least twice a year, to talk about topics related their everyday life and deepen their mutual knowledge, to sing songs and dance. These chats gave them the chance to have a real contact with their European friends and find out similarities and differences between their cultures and ways of living.
The teachers of the partnership have set up and updated the partnership website, have produced CLIL modules, videos for flipped classrooms and shared assessment and evaluation materials.
The partnership had an impact on the schools as a whole, developing the European/international dimension of education, promoting innovation in teaching and school management, improving cooperation between teachers, strengthening interdisciplinary approaches in the curriculum.
Through the use of Skype, eTwinning and social networks the partner schools established lasting contacts among them and other schools from European countries to share experiences and collaborate in the future.
Dissemination events have been organised by each school in order to inform teachers, parents, children, local community and local/regional/national authorities about the project activities and results and to promote the cooperation among the European schools.
Dissemination has been ensured also through local and regional newspapers, TV and radio.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 131205 Eur

Project Coordinator

Istituto Comprensivo Anzio I & Country: IT

Project Partners

• Vrije lagere school Sint-Dimpna
• Kirkonkylän koulu
• Friedrich – Staedtler – Schule
• SANT JORDI
• 18th primary school chania