Pen pals put a face with a name

As part of the second grade writing curriculum, students are learning how to write a friendly, handwritten letter complete with grammatical content and sentence structure. To practice this new skill, writing teachers Katie Snodgrass at Gill Hall Elementary School and Nichole Matusz at McClellan Elementary School teamed up to provide each second grade student a pen pal from each other’s class. Students wrote letters to their second grade counterparts introducing themselves and shared information about their pets, favorite things, hobbies and interests. After all the letters were completed and collected, they were routed to their eagerly awaiting pen pals! As a special surprise, the teachers arranged a Google Meet where all of the second grade classes could meet and see each other virtually. It was a great opportunity for the students to see their pen pals in person (virtually) and put a face to the names! Now, students are writing back to their new pen pals and will continue to exchange letters as they build upon their writing skills. According to Mrs. Snodgrass, “It’s a wonderful opportunity to connect these students since many of them don’t really know each other yet, but they will all be coming together at Jefferson Hills Intermediate School as third graders next year.” Thank you to Mrs. Snodgrass and Mrs. Matusz for coordinating this special project, and great job by all of the second grade authors!