An encyclopedia for three worlds. A multilingual encyclopedia, believed to be the first, is currently helping Ukrainian children integrate fully into the Italian school system.
It has 8-volumes and each entry is presented in Italian, English, and Ukrainian.
It’s intended for primary school children, but its main aim is to help Ukrainian pupils feel fully accepted in the classroom with their new classmates and teachers.
Asia Graziano, Project Manager at Scripta Maneant Editions, explained how the concept began. “The idea was born from a concrete need. We asked ourselves how, in our small way, we could give our contribution to the school, education, and cultural integration of the newcomers, of the Ukrainian children who came to Italy and Europe.”
It has hundreds of topics conveyed to children of different origins through not only books, but also interactive contents, audiobooks, smartphones, and multimedia interactive blackboards.
Teacher Olimpio Tullio explained how these books are used in the classroom. “For instance, we started from the solar system, analysing what the sun is and this is written in Italian, English, and Ukrainian. We talked about it and then we used the book to study the eclipses.”
“We tend to think of school as a community, a teaching community, and a community of practices,” said Filomena Massaro, Headteacher at the Comprehensive Institute 12 of Bologna.
The project also looks out for the needs of all children in the classroom. Project Manager Laura Lopardo said no child should be left behind.
“We were concerned about those children who might suffer from learning disorders. Therefore, we printed it with a specific, large font.”
All over Italy, dozens of schools and about 500 public libraries have adopted the trilingual encyclopedia.
Watch Euronews’ report in the player above.
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