Myths past and present : from paper to computer : My Tremendous Heritage / Mythes d'hier et d'aujourd'hui, du papier aux écrans

We applied for this project because we wanted to develop and strengthen academic, cultural and social skills. We imagined the project shortly after the pandemic which had revealed different aspects of online teaching/learning. We aimed at using games and playing to involve pupils in an active way, to develop social bonds and build confidence in the future. We based our work on the studies of well known European myths and on the discoveries of new ones, specific to the partners' countries. The need for the project also sprang from the fact that pupils needed to strengthen their reading skills as well as their language skills, both in foreign languages and their own mother tongue. From previous experiences, we knew that involving pupils in such a project was a highly motivating and attractive way to keep pupils' interest in education. National and international team work provides a successful frame to encourage pupils of different social background (in particular disadvantaged families) who can feel tempted to leave school. It also arises European consciousness. The project frame provides serious and trustworthy partners, as well as the financial means to achieve the aims

The aim was to foster inclusion on different scales : first within each school, then by building relations with the European partners. The fact that the partners were from different geographical backgrounds (rural and city backgrounds, large and small) also accounted for a larger inclusion. Having to work together gave birth to the spontaneous need to develop communication skills. The four schools had identified reading skills weaknesses and the project aimed at improving those skills. The use of games was meant to create interest and to seduce pupils into fields they tend to neglect. Teachers were also in need of developing new teaching materials as well as of improving their online teaching methods. We wanted to improve language and digital skills, to awaken European citizenship consciousness through warm and human relationships, which in turn would encourage tolerance for differences. Through all these combined abjectives, we also aimed at reducing early school leaving.

All the activities from the project but one were implemented. Schools collaborated or exchanged their lessons plans and knowledge about how to include playing games in the process of learning. The schools worked on mythical stories: collective readings were conducted during the mobility to France and Turkey and during the public reading within the Latin-Greek Festival. Illustrations were created to fit Kamishibaï, which could then be used again. Different games were created (escape games- card games- video games- spoken language games- puzzle solving- jigsaw) in different subject classes. An International cooking book was produced after cooking workshops in Turkey. Cultural visits in several museums (Art, Tapestry, historical, parks, capital cities, stud farm) were conducted. The French school took part to the Lyon latin- greek festival. The major problem the schools met was with the access to the new e-twinning platform. This and slow internet connexions made it impossible to launch our e-twinning project as we had intended to. On top of the international collaborative work, each school carried out lesson plans they experimented and then passed on to the other partners; this mostly concerned ICT, languages , Latin.

A website collects all the photos and summaries dealing with the outputs . There are several collective productions. Through a careful monitoring of money, and with the support of the local institutions and authorities, we managed to increase the number of mobilities done. Several games were created : - the werewolves card games, antique Gaulish clay game, Four sets of story-telling illustrations to tell Ovid’s Pyramus and Thisbe to be used with the Kamishibaï, The International cooking book, The Pyramus and Thisbe oral mosaic, A video : how to build an escape game, Different Lesson plans, Two Aeneas Shield, Posters, Pupils accounts and diaries of their experiences.