"Context Nowadays, it has become imperative to adjust our teaching methods to the requirements imposed by the rapid pace of development that we are experiencing. However, it should not be omitted that there are skills and methods which have started to lose ground in the technological era and it would be a pity to assist passively to them. With this in mind, we have set out on the journey of discovering and rediscovering the pleasure of reading, as a way of improving students' basic competences - language, communication, as well as skills such as interpretation, critical thinking and analysis. Alarmingly high numbers of students have never read an entire book in their lives, while others state that they only read out of obligation, but less than a book per year. Therefore, teaching English as a foreign language through stories can be a challenge as much as it can prove a source of endless inspiration and entertainment. Participants Our target group includes students of the ages 10-14 with basic English skills (minimum A2 level) from our schools. We chose this age group as they are old enough to read in English and young enough to still show enthusiasm for it. Therefore, we are addressing a number of approximately 400 students (the others, who do not have a working command of English, but are in the same age group will be involved in artistic activities, cultural activities or activities which involve their mother tongue. The project also addresses teachers of English from our schools who will update their teaching methods and exchange experiences and practices with their peers, thus contributing to the creation of a professional network of English teachers. 68 students and 32 teachers will participate in the 4 exchanges we have planned, participants who will be selected from the target groups. Objectives 1. to develop students' taste for reading and motivate them; (minimum 50% of target group) 2. to develop students' creativity and language skills; (minimum 80% of the target group) 3. to develop students' critical and creative thinking, personal and social capability; (min. 60% target group) 4. to develop understanding of their own culture in connection with other European cultures; (minimum 70%) 5. to promote European values and develop cohesion among European citizens. 6. to exchange teaching methods and improve the material bases of the English teachers. 7. to produce sustainable teaching materials and share them with foreign language teachers in our countries and others. Activities We have planned 4 exchanges: C1 - Feb 2018 - Italy: Developing literary and interpretative skills through stories. C2 - May 2018 - Hungary: Teaching reading and critical thinking skills through stories. C3 - Oct 2018 - Bulgaria: Teaching writing skills and creativity through stories. C4 - Mar 2019 - Romania: Teaching speaking skills through stories. Developing self-confidence in the use of English The exchanges will comprise topic-related seminars and workshops, cultural activities, attending lessons. For the purpose of project management, we will organise 2 transnational meetings: at the beginning of the project and at the end, in Turkey. Methodology Project management implies planning, organisation, implemetation, monitoring, evaluation and dissemination of results. In the planning stage - we identified the needs and established the aims and objectives of the project. In the organisation stage, we will elaborate dissemination and evaluation plans, action plans, timeline of events, distribution of tasks and resources. In the implementation stage, we will organise the selection, preparation and participation in exchanges. We will produce the final results of the project. The dissemination plan is created to share the results and activities within our partnership and beyond it, so as to impact the target groups, the institutions, local/regional/national/European target audiences. The evaluation is done at every stage of the project and its results will be included in the impact study. Impact and results - Students are expected to become more motivated, improve their language skills and intercultural competence; they will become more self-confident in their ability to use English, improve their literary competence, their reading, speaking, writing skills as well as their interpretive, critical thinking skills and creativity. - Teachers as well will become more motivated, improve their leadership, team work, presentation skills, improve their material base, develop language, communication skills, interpersonal and intercultural competence. - Schools become more visible in their community, develop their human resources. Tangible results include: Compendium of literary theory for secondary school students; Collection of story-related activities and lesson plans for secondary school students; Curriculum for optional class ""TESS - Teaching English Skills through Stories"""

The Project “Empathy For Understanding And Tolerance for Others’ Mistakes” involves 5 schools from 5 European countries: SI, TR, MK, IT, RO. According to the SWOT analysis done by each partner in their institution, the partners identified a series of common needs that lead to the decision to implement a project about tolerance. Violence, aggression, intolerance, racism, ethnic discrimination are tendencies that can be observed in the behavior of the students from the partner countries. The project objectives are:-to develop civic competences and increase self-esteem of 96 students from 5 EU countries-to facilitate understanding the concepts “tolerance” and “mutual understanding” at a personal level and in the European context-to equip participants with practical examples for acting as civic-minded citizens-to raise awareness about diversity and cultural identities promoting social cohesion-to boost the feeling of belonging to the EU communityIn accordance with the Article 2 of the Treaty on the European Union, we envisage that this international cooperation will prepare our students for living in a multicultural society being aware of the EU values, appreciating diversity. Students will interiorize tolerance and mutual understanding as active civic attitudes. For reaching the overall aim of broadening the civic mindedness emphasizing the importance of tolerance and mutual understanding impact in daily life, we decided to use an innovative approach.To reach the project objectives an innovative approach will be used. Combining the advantages of using ICT in education with the Five Factor Model theory will tackle the 5 personality dimensions:-openness to experience: students will be encouraged to express their emotions and ideas using Art.They will create together the movie “Tolerance through my eyes”, scenarios for the Forum theater, digital photos, will prepare artistic moments for the Festival of tolerance and mutual understanding.-extraversion: team building activities, sports competitions and board games are going to stimulate students’ assertiveness, sociability and personality.-conscientiousness: students are taught self-discipline, planning and working towards goals-agreeableness: working in international teams and creating products together will develop students’ cooperation skills. The tangible products they will create together are flashcards about the topic, the dictionary of the project, handmade bookmarks and thematic puzzles.-neuroticism: students will experience (un)pleasant emotions, anger, depression, anxiety and vulnerability during the Forum theater/ theater activity. They will become aware of how intolerance is perceived by others, develop empathy and they will see how important is to be an active citizen.The use of ICT during the activities, supported by internal cognitive aspects of learning will lead to innovative outcomes results tackling learning abilities.The activities are designed to develop the tolerance, mutual understanding, intercultural competences, social and civic spirit. The international cooperation will broaden the cross-cultural knowledge and understanding about the countries, cultures and values strengthening the feeling of belonging to a united Europe.A number of 24 students from every partner (aged between 12 and 14 years old) will attend the transnational meetings. Students will be selected before the mobilities, using transparent criteria decided by each project partner taken into consideration: English skills, ICT skills, motivation and involvement in the school-based activities. A number of 44 teachers will be directly involved in the project mobilities, but teams will be formed at the school level to facilitate a better implementation of the project. Approximately 2700 students and 120 teachers/adults will indirectly be involved in the project. Other participants who will enjoy the benefits offered by this Erasmus+ project are the administrative staff, students’ families, pedagogical staff, educational advisors, policy makers and representatives of the local authorities.The tangible products of the project are an audio dictionary, photography exhibition, calendar of the project, common movie, e-book, flashcards, thematic puzzles, handmade bookmarks, project webpages, project logo, flyers, DVD of the project, brochure.The intangible results are the development of life skills, key competences, cultural horizon, intercultural understanding, team working skills and knowledge about the topic.The results will be made available on the project website. The dissemination plan will help to reach a large audience and make an impact at local, regional, national and international levels.