Access: Pen Pal Program

My teacher-created Pen Pal Program is one that connects students across geographical areas. The idea of the program is to provide students with different points of view and to learn more about the world around them. I decided to expose my students to other students, around the same age, living in a different place. Students learned about places outside of their environment, and since they are communicating with students in Leland, MS, they are communicating with students in a different geographical area as well. This Pen Pal Program exposes students to life outside of Washington, D.C. and encourages them to think about different viewpoints.

Aside from learning friendly-letter letter format and practicing writing skills, students were also taught a mini-lesson about the area that they would be writing letters to. Students learned about Leland, MS and what living and going to school in the area is like. Student were able to use that information to ask students living in Leland, MS and attending Leland Elementary School questions about their town in their friendly letters.

Communicating with people who live in a different geographical area, like in Mississippi, allows students who have never left D.C. to learn a little about what it is like to live in a rural area. These connections with students who live in different areas is important for my students and their families to create. Exposing my students to people who are different encourages students to develop understanding and empathy for people who may not share the same point of view.

By creating a program that allowed students to interact with students their own age halfway across the country, students were building their sense of worldview and expanding their knowledge of areas and people that are different than them. Students who interact with others in the form of written communication are thinking about people and places outside their schools and area, and outside the District of Columbia, while practicing their writing skills.

This teacher-created program not only gives student access to the world outside their school and city, but also works to increase their writing skills and social skills through written communication. Students are learning about their peers in a completely different area- specifically a rural, southern area, and my students were intrigued by the idea of writing and interacting with students that learn in a different environment than them. Students were especially interested and curious about living and attending school in an area where there are no buses or metro systems to help get around. Having a pen pal is important because it encourages empathy, understanding, and perspective in a world that is predominantly viewed through a computer screen. Pen pal programs provide access of information and knowledge to students that will create meaningful and lasting impacts in the classroom and throughout student lives.

Below is an article written by Lisa Mims titled "Pen Pals in the 21st Century." This article describes the importance of Pen Pals in our classrooms in the age of computers and the access that pen pals can provide to students. Click on the link below to access the full article.

"Pen Pals in the 21st Century" by Lisa Mims

The first step in creating my Pen Pal program was to connect with my former colleagues at Leland Elementary School in Leland, MS. I reached out to my former teammates teaching fourth grade and asked them if they would be interested in helping to establish a program that would encourage writing skills and communication between students. After correspondence with one of my former coworkers (and now my former students' teacher) we agreed that both of our classrooms would benefit from a Pen Pal Program between my fourth grade students in Washington, D.C. and fourth grade students in Leland, MS. My former coworker and I agreed that my current students would write the first letters, and the fourth grade students in Mississippi would be able to respond to the letters and the questions that my students ask.

Setting up a Pen Pal partnership can be difficult when the communication is one-sided. My students and I were excited to have a partnership with teachers and students in my former school who were just as excited as we were to begin this program. Below are screenshots of those conversations with teachers in Mississippi.

Students worked through a lesson that I created in order to prepare them for writing their friendly letters. First, students were instructed to look at the format of letters, and what they should do in preparation, including thinking about their audience and what they are going to write.

Then, students created an anchor chart with the teacher that stated the steps to write their friendly letter. Students looked at the format of a friendly letter exemplar, and then used the exemplar and a graphic organizer to think about the different things that they could write in their friendly letters. Students created another anchor chart that gave them ideas about the different things they could write about for reference.

Students also learned about the geography of Mississippi and about what life in the small town of Leland is like. Students were able to compare and contrast the differences between living in a city and living in a rural area before they began writing their friendly letters. This allowed them to think about the differences between urban and rural areas, and sparked questions and conversation starters in their letters.

The Pen Pal Program with Leland, MS connects to several academic standards for fourth grade. Some of the Common Core standards that students are working towards through this Pen Pal Program are listed below:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Students were able to use the information from the lesson and use the anchor charts that were created in whole group to begin drafting their first letters. Students were encouraged to take risks and make mistakes, as we are going to write the letters over again before we sent them to students in Leland, Mississippi.

Students were expected to write a formatted letter, sharing their likes and dislikes, what Washington, D.C. is like, and ask questions about life in Mississippi. Since my students received a mini-lesson about life in Leland, Mississippi, and since students were able to discuss the similarities and differences between Washington and Leland, students could ask questions about things in Leland to begin the conversation with their peers in a different geographical area.

Some students were more interested in learning about the student they were writing to. Students also asked multiple questions about what movies, television shows, music, books, comics, and characters students liked. Asking students in Mississippi their likes and dislikes was a popular writing point in the letters.

Overall, students were excited and thrilled to have a writing task that had meaning- specifically when thinking about writing letters to my former students outside of the D.C. Metro Area. I realized that students were much more invested and eager to write the letters and follow letter writing format if another student was going to be reading their letter and responding. Even though my students were writing letters to students and they didn't know their names (my colleagues wanted to read the letters and give them to students who they thought might have something in common), students were still excited and eager to share information about their likes and dislikes and ask about the letter recipient's likes and dislikes.

Students commented that this was one of the most fun writing projects they had participated in and that they couldn't wait for the response letters to come in. Some students were eager to hear about the experiences of students living in rural areas- specifically if they liked the same things as them. Many students had the expectation that they would continue correspondence with students for the rest of the year. Students in both D.C. and Mississippi were eager to engage and make new friends across geographical boundaries.

Below are recorded student reflections. Click play to listen to each reflection.

The Pen Pal Program with my former students in Leland, Mississippi will not only benefit my current students in Washington, D.C., but will benefit my former students in Leland. These letters will foster a sense of shared elementary school experience across geographical differences. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has made it difficult to maintain contact with teachers and students in Mississippi.

Even so, my students participated in a valuable and memorable experience that encouraged them to think about people living in different geographical areas than them, inside and outside of the United States. I continue to see this in my students, even throughout our period of distance learning, and have encouraged students to continue questioning and being curious and open to learning about people who are different than them. My students know that through continuing these relationships, opportunities for personal growth and development, specifically in understanding and empathy, are created and sustained.

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Pen Pal Program with former Students in Mississippi

Introduction
Why is it Important to have a Pen Pal?
Correspondence with Former Colleagues in Mississippi
Teacher Pre-Work and Lesson Plans
Connections to Academics and Fourth Grade Standards
Student Letter Samples
Reflections and Expectations
Student Letters Received
Conclusion

Introduction

What is our Pen Pal Program?

Above, students are working on their Pen Pal Letters. Students received a handout that helped remind and guide them through proper formatting of the letter.

Above, students are helping create an anchor chart about how to write a friendly letter. Anchor charts help students remember the skills discussed during the lesson.

Why is it Important to have a Pen Pal?

What is the benefit of this program and how it is providing access to students?

Above is a preview of the article, "Pen Pals in the 21st Century" by Lisa Mims. Click on the link below to access the full text.

Correspondence with Former Colleagues in Mississippi

How did I connect and establish this with my former colleagues?

Above is the initial communication between myself and my former colleagues teaching in Mississippi. I reached out to my colleagues with the hope that they would agree to be a part of the Pen Pal program with my former students.

Above is the response from one of my former colleagues in Mississippi. She was excited and interested in having her students write to Pen Pals in an urban area.

Teacher Pre-Work and Lesson Plans

How did I prepare students to write these letters?

Above is an example of a video used in the lesson plan for writing a friendly letter. Students watched the video for a brief review of friendly letter writigng.

Above is an example of the slide that students began to write with. Students were instructed to write their first draft and encouraged to make mistakes to get better at their writing.

Above is an example of the handout that was given to students to use when writing their friendly letters. This example letter was useful to students who needed a visual letter.

Above is a picture from the letter writing lesson. Students were given examples of the language they should use when writing their letters.

Connections to Academics and Fourth Grade Standards

How does the Pen Pal Program connect to fourth grade standards?

Student Letter Samples

How did students begin drafting their letters?

Above, students are working on the Pen Pal letters with the exemplars and in small groups to share ideas with one another about what to write.

Above, students are working together to come up with ideas to share in their Pen Pal letters.

Above is an example of a student letter written for the Pen Pal Program. Students were excited when I told them they were writing to some of my former students.

Above is another example of a student letter for the Pen Pal Program. Students were encouraged to share information about their likes and dislikes.

Above is another example of a student letter. This student was most interested in asking questions about the students' lives in Mississippi.

Above is another example of a student letter for the Pen Pal Program. This student was excited to share information about their favorite things. Students were all encouraged to follow the proper format.

Reflections and Expectations

How did students feel about writing the letters? What are students looking forward to?

Student Letters Received

What were student reactions to the letters when received?

Conclusion

Will students continue to correspond with their peers?

References