Interest in regional history is one of the most common of all cultural beneficial activities. Schools play a major role in the education of tomorrow`s students and decision makers. In our project we involve our pupils, staff and local society and authorities in culture of past times, local heritage, history of the surroundings and local literature and start them thinking wider responsibilities to both society and the environment. The next step will be taking care of cultural heritage in their surroundings. On the other hand during two years of project all participants will learn how to be an active citizen and promote aware of beauties of their surroundings, they also automatically become conscious of their importance. The principal aims of the project "Written in Stone" are to build new relationship among young people in Europe, improving the attainment of young people, particularly those at risk of early school leaving as well as focus on local environment, traditions, heraldry and cultural thinking. The project will have a longer-term multiple effect and sustainable impact both within and outside the participating school (e.g. in other schools or in the community). For pupils, these activities will be integrated into the curriculum in the long-term perspective. In that way, the project will benefit all the learners of the participating schools. In our project we will involve students from 12 till 15 years old, teaching staff, parents and local society in many different activities, like: researching, observations, drama. As a teachers we will plan activities correlated with neurodidactic so they will be more atractive for all partners and we will learn more. We will improve our communication English skills, develope digital knowlegde and use open educational resources. During the project we will produce lots of products that can be used by other interested in the topic even after the project finish: teachers lessons plan, webside with all the CLIL materials, blog... The project intends to be a good example for other schools, to work in the same direction. As well as it tries to support cultural awareness as the students involved on it live their own lifes and apply all they lived and learnt in the project.
The main objectives of the Written in Stone project were to build a new relationship between young people in Europe, improve the involvement of young people, especially those at risk of leaving out of school, and focus on local history, castles and regional stories, promote CLIL teaching and prepare sets of materials for teaching regional history using the CLIL method in the form of specific preparations for lessons with demonstrations (heraldry, art and drama in medieval castles, ghost stories). This project aimed to boost people's interest in local history and increase their knowledge of the region's cultural heritage. We think that just as we prepare our students for subsequent academic and professional life, it is also important to educate them in practical skills about past culture, local heritage, local history and local literature. Once students become aware of the beauty of their surroundings, they also automatically realize their importance. This will have a clear impact on students' cultural skills and awareness. We wanted to achieve this through active learning methods, involving pupils and teachers at every step and also through the involvement of local authorities (libraries, archives, museums). During the project, students and teachers expanded their professional profile and is expected to incorporate new teaching methods or tools and thus expand their digital competences. These include the skills acquired during virtual mobilities, especially working with Padlet, Kahoot, Mentimeter, Google forms, Zen maps, etc. The project activities promoted creativity, cooperation, equality, partnership and cooperation with local authorities. The project was designed to compare and contrast ways of life at different times in different regions in order to promote the cultural awareness of students and staff. We understand that English is the best tool and most commonly used language for global communication in history, entertainment, culture, traditions, etc., which means that developing and improving our English language skills is extremely important. Our project was based on common themes that motivated students and staff to explore, exchange experiences about cultural and historical richness in Europe. Cooperation between the partner schools also provided an opportunity for all participants to explore the diverse and rich European cultures, although we only visited Italy and Romania virtually. Our project involved students in planning, implementation and evaluation, which led to improved ability to work independently and also strengthened self-confidence and motivation to learn. The new and creative approaches provided by the school partnership provide added value for traditional learning and teaching. The integration of a cross-cutting European theme into students' school life has increased the motivation to study from this attractive perspective and achieved the set goals. As part of the Written in Stone project, we have set the following goals (1) to open our borders, (2) to involve all members of our community, (3) to do something innovative and special - CLIL material from teaching regional history, (4) to list all our resources and (5) make our work accessible to other countries and thus unify our cultures. Primary school pupils aged 11-15 were involved in the project, and 208 pupils in partner schools and virtual mobilities were directly involved. Pupils with specific learning difficulties were also involved (especially pupils with dyslexia, dysgraphia, pupils from socially unstimulating backgrounds). Pupils and school staff are after completing the project: - able to carry out projects and campaigns to spread awareness of regional history through various activities (visiting local castles, museums, archives, libraries, interviews with experts, playing drama and musicals, etc.) - design and make coat of arms, catapults and stained glass - prepare a troubadour game - prepare research on different types of coats of arms in castles in the region (tour of local castles, photography of different coats of arms) and create analysis using various ICT tools - create materials, lesson plans for other teachers using the CLIL approach; - use English in the preparation of performances and poetry; - prepare and organize special school days for pupils, teachers and local communities - a press release describing our research, work, interview, etc. - create website design and project logos All of the original plan of 40 activities were fulfilled by the partner countries. Out of the total number of 7 meetings of pupils and teachers , 5 were held in person and 2 were virtual. Out of the total number of 3 international meetings of teachers, 2 were held in person and 1 in virtual. Thus, all objectives, activities and mobility in the project plan were met.