Through our Preschool Project, Project Favela supports the United Nations' Milennium Development Goal to achieve universal primary education worldwide. As of 2015, though, 57 million primary children were still out of school and those numbers are higher for developing countries experiencing conflict. Worldwide, the “education poor” – those on the fringes of society - are being neglected. New approaches and innovations must be tailor-made for such groups – simply increasing opportunities for standard schooling is not enough. We are committed to delivering an innovative primary education to supplement or replace the scant educational opportunities available otherwise.
An obstacle to this goal is the chronic shortages of "certified" teachers. This is a key concern given that an estimated 1.7 million additional teachers are needed to achieve universal primary education (UNESCO Institute for Statistics). To combat this acute shortage, many governments recruit and employ untrained teachers, providing little in-service professional development and rely on NGO's and volunteer teachers to work alongside government or municipal programs that provide educational programming for the world's most vulnerable children. The Preschool Project's innovative design and implementation provides volunteer teachers a framework and structure enabling even non-professional "teachers" to arrive in Brazil and immediately begin making a difference.
The Preschool Project at Project Favela is passionately committed to the world's most vulnerable children and the teachers and volunteers who serve them. Please contact us if you are interested in our programs or teaching in our projects.
An obstacle to this goal is the chronic shortages of "certified" teachers. This is a key concern given that an estimated 1.7 million additional teachers are needed to achieve universal primary education (UNESCO Institute for Statistics). To combat this acute shortage, many governments recruit and employ untrained teachers, providing little in-service professional development and rely on NGO's and volunteer teachers to work alongside government or municipal programs that provide educational programming for the world's most vulnerable children. The Preschool Project's innovative design and implementation provides volunteer teachers a framework and structure enabling even non-professional "teachers" to arrive in Brazil and immediately begin making a difference.
The Preschool Project at Project Favela is passionately committed to the world's most vulnerable children and the teachers and volunteers who serve them. Please contact us if you are interested in our programs or teaching in our projects.
If you are a volunteer teacher and interested in bringing needed supplies with you, we keep an up-to-date Wish List on Amazon.com. These items are curated so you will know exactly what our current needs are. You may search the Amazon site in your country of origin for better shipping options OR you may find these items locally. Click the button to go to the list!
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Curriculum
Click on the buttons below to access curriculum documents. The curriculum is based on the Colorado Department of Education Early Learning Guidelines and Academic Standards.
Teacher Development Resources
Early Literacy Development
This first model video demonstrates how a teacher builds engagement through repetition and engagement. Simply reading aloud to children, whether in Portuguese or English, will not develop critical literacy skills. The gallery below shows Project Favela teachers demonstrating how the picture books of Eric Carle can organize instruction thematically and provide support for children's home language acquisition while simultaneously building English language vocabulary through art, science, and math activities.
Model Video |
Teaching ToolkitVideo Resource: Project Favela teacher Delali Kalitsi demonstrating dual language Circle Time
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Multilingual Instruction
Project Favela offers the children of Rocinha a variety of classes, including science, math, geography, etc. Most students are learning English and are proficient at varying levels. This video is a good example of how a teacher involves physical response and kinesthetic learning in a fully immersive way. Volun-teachers also provide classes to a variety of locals with varying English language proficiency.
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Teaching ToolkitClick here to access Freddiesville video English lessons for grades K-4
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STEM
Project Favela volunteers engage students with hands-on activities so the children can experience science and math concepts naturally. Often these concepts are embedded within a week or month long thematic unit. Pre-engineering projects teach students important problem-solving skills in addition to critical math and physics skills. Geo-literacy projects, such as vertical gardens and map-making activities, engage students in their community and the world around them.
Model Video |
Teaching Toolkit |
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A new initiative at Project Favela is to give kids from the favela a time and place to become "makers" or "tinkerers." There are many design and engineering challenges to favela life. Project Favela is nurturing and inspiring future engineers, designers, and architects. Click here for some ideas!
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Arts and Humanities
Project Favela volunteers help the children of Rocinha express themselves through a variety of arts, drama, and music classes. Often the arts is integrated throughout the curriculum and enhances other instruction in reading, science, geography, and math.