United in Diversity through Stories in Europe

Stories (legends, myths and fairytales) often have cultural, historic or geographic significance and they provide a meaningful insight into the cultural identity of any country. Our project wishes to utilize these stories in order to engage the pupils of the partnership in shared cross-curricular activities.The main aim of this project is the realization of the European motto “united in diversity” through stories while the main objectives are: -To engage learners in meaningful activities that will help them discover their unique potentials and talents.-To boost the self-esteem of all students, especially of those who are in danger of experiencing failure in education.-To give students teachers and parents the chance to discover their cultural identity and find out the mutual inheritance that we share with the other European fellows. - To equip teachers with expertise in languages and use of ICT in order to be able to teach valuable lifelong skills to the students.-To expand the European dimension of the partner institutions in order to play an active role at local, regional and national level.The participant schools are from Greece, Lithuania, Italy, Turkey, Portugal, Spain and Bulgaria .The activities will be structured to accommodate pupils of all ages, abilities, multiple intelligences and ethnic backgrounds. Legends, myths and fairy tales will enable pupils to work across many areas of the curriculum. This will happen through various story-telling techniques:- Reading and listening to chosen stories;- Looking, creating and exchanging pictures, drawings and works of art inspired by these stories;- Producing new versions of these stories;- Dramatizing;- Exchanging predictions and telling possible ways of how the plot might continue;- Talking about the motives of action the heroes might have;- Creating poems inspired by these stories.Schools will use e-Twinning in order to work together on the project and the products will be published in an online magazine in twin space in the languages of the partnership and in English. Issues of this magazine will be printed and distributed to the local communities in the two years of the project. Apart from the transnational meetings, there will be common short-term teaching events at the end of the two school years with representative children cooperating and preparing common celebrations. Overall, it is expected that, through this project, an awareness of the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity within Europe will be promoted. As a result, this awareness will broaden horizons and strengthen the values towards combating racism, prejudice and xenophobia. Also, the engagement of all students in meaningful activities according to their unique potentials, will boost their self-esteem towards the prevention of early leaving from school.