If your school is thinking of undertaking a curriculum-based project with a Portuguese partner school the following may be of interest to you :

Comenius School Partnerships

eTwinning

eLanguages

Classroom resources are also available from : http://www.visitportugal.com/Cultures/en-US/default.html

Joint curriculum projects enable schools to work collaboratively on a joint project of common interest. The general aim of the activities should be to promote mutual understanding between participants. Possible thematic areas for projects could include:

• Cultural heritage of participants
• Protection of the environment and related issues
• Arts and crafts education
• Music
• Science and technology
• Development of literary traditions
• Local and regional identities
• Links between the school and the world of work
• Promotion of equal opportunities for girls and boys
• Media studies
• Sport

This list is by no means exhaustive and is intended to illustrate some of the areas which could form the basis of a joint project.

The following factors help to ensure a successful project, and partnership :

• A clear programme of collaborative work with partner school
• Activities based clearly within the curriculum, to the mutual benefit of the curricula of both participating institutions and to involve the maximum number of students, whether or not they are involved in any exchange activity
• Potential for long term sustainability
• Senior management support
• Carefully planned evaluation and dissemination of project outcomes.