Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? In the Classroom!

 Learning company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt(HMH) today introduced a comprehensive K-12 classroom engagement program starring iconic globetrotting super sleuth Carmen Sandiego and featuring original lesson plans, Google-powered field trips and games, digital content and much more—all downloadable and accessible on HMH’s new online resource hub for educators.

Capturing Carmen’s adventurous spirit, smarts and savvy, and complementing the popular animated series now streaming on Netflix, the classroom activities are designed to support student learning around geography, history, culture and diversity. They also meet a growing demand for content that focuses on social-emotional concepts, such as confidence building, goal setting, social awareness, teamwork and responsible decision-making.

The Carmen in the Classroom program includes a wide variety of resources and activities:

• Teacher Resource Hub: The hub features more than 100 (and growing) free downloadable resources, including lesson plans, activities, posters, card games and more. Students can use their geography knowledge to find Carmen Sandiego on a map, visit some of the most prominent landmarks in the world on Google Earth, practice their foreign language skills with characters from the Netflix show, and discover and participate in cultural traditions from across the world.
  
• Netflix Series Episode Guides: Inspired by Season One of Carmen Sandiego, teachers can download lesson plans, guides and activities that further explore the different countries, cultures and languages featured in each episode.
  
• Globetrotting with Google Expeditions: Through a partnership with Google Expeditions, an immersive virtual reality–based app, students tag along with Carmen to learn about innovation and architecture at the world’s tallest skyscrapers, travel back in time to study the significance of famous sites like the Parthenon in Athens and the pyramids in Giza, and learn about climate change at the hottest and coldest places on Earth, among other interactive adventures.
  
• Carmen Capers on Google Earth: Students can solve a series of mysterious capers inspired by the original computer game, answering clues and exploring the globe using Google technology as they pursue the elusive Carmen.  
  
• Carmen Sandiego: Fearless Kids Around the World: Coming soon, an exclusive web series, Carmen Sandiego: Fearless Kids Around the World, will feature short-form videos that profile kids around the world who are undertaking unique missions of their own, highlighting different cultures, values and beliefs along the way.

“Carmen has captured kids’ imagination for decades, and we’re thrilled to bring her back to her roots—the classroom, a space where she has done infinite good for decades,” says Caroline Fraser, Head of HMH Productions, HMH Books & Media. “Carmen stands for courage, diversity and empathy, and teachers will be able to use her adventures as a vehicle to not only generate excitement and build subject matter mastery, but also teach kids how to be confident, successful global citizens.”

Middle-grade readers can also immerse themselves in globetrotting adventures with page-turners from HMH Books & Media’s original series of Carmen novels, graphic novels and “choose your own caper” books.

This week at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE^®) Conference & Expo in Philadelphia, attendees can stop by the HMH booth (#2406) to learn more about these new resources, participate in globetrotting adventures and enter to win one of many Carmen-themed prizes. And visit Google’s booth (#2200) to learn even more about how to use the capers and the expeditions in the classroom.

About Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (NASDAQ:HMHC) is a learning company committed to delivering integrated solutions that engage learners, empower educators and improve student outcomes. As a leading provider of K–12 core curriculum, supplemental and intervention solutions and professional learning services, HMH partners with educators and school districts to uncover solutions that unlock students’ potential and extend teachers’ capabilities. HMH serves more than 50 million students and 3 million educators in 150 countries, while its award-winning children’s books, novels, non-fiction, and reference titles are enjoyed by readers throughout the world. For more information, visit www.hmhco.com.