Materials:

List of Participating Schools Large wall-size world map with latitude and longitude lines Push pins, sticky dots/stars, different color pens, etc. for plotting the schools. Optional: the following free downloadable world maps are available from National Geographic: Small World Map (.gif format) Large World Map (.pdf format)

Instructions:

1. Go to the current List of Participating Schools or the Letters of Introduction conference of the Discussion Area and locate the schools on a wall-size world map. Place a push pin, sticky dot, etc. to mark the location of the schools. You may find it helpful to print the list of schools.
    
2. After you've located several schools on the map, select one or two located in a different country or geographic region and research their country, culture, currency, environment, etc. You can use the following URLs to find out more information:
   • Lonely Planet: Destinations
   • CIA World Factbook
   • Yahoo! Country Directories
   • Infoplease: Countries of the World
      
3. After you've researched the school's country, etc., go to the Letter of Introduction conference of the Discussion Area and ask them what life is truly like in their home and share with them the information that you have found.
    
4. Return to the List of Participating Schools frequently and plot the schools as they register for the project.