Theresa: Send Me a Postcard!

Reflecting is a big part of teaching, and I’ve never been really good at “formally” reflecting on my teaching practice. Some of my best ideas, reflections, and brainstorms come during my car ride to and from school or when I’m out walking my dogs. So, as I was thinking about how to reach 30 bilingual 4th graders (six of which have IEPs) during my co-teaching, I came up with a great idea: POSTCARDS! You’re probably asking yourself, how is a little 3x5 piece of paper with a picture on it going to help you teach? Trust me, it will!

My 4th graders are studying the states and regions of the United States in social studies. I know that my students rarely get the chance to travel outside of the Chicago area, and if they do, they don’t take fun random trips around the country, but, rather, go to Mexico to visit their families.

My plan is to expose my students to all of the content of States and Regions through postcards. I made a quick call to my dad, who had just left that morning for a trip to North Dakota. I begged him to buy postcards wherever he stopped, once I explained it was for my students he quickly agreed.

I got to thinking, a couple postcards from North Dakota wouldn't be enough. How could I get my hands on more postcards? I remembered all of my friends and family that live throughout the United States, and knew I would need their help. And so it began: On a Thursday night after way too many caffeinated beverages, I began e-mailing.

Friend from high school? Check. Cousin in the marines stationed on the East Coast? Check. Classmates from grad school? Check. My fellow Reality 101 bloggers? Check. More than 30 e-mails later, I was done, and it was now time to wait for the responses. After hitting that final send button, I began to get nervous. What if no one responded, or thought that I was just sending out crazy e-mails?

The responses I got overwhelmed me! So many people said that it was such a great idea and they would send a postcard out right away (a big thanks to Allisence, Jessica, and Richard!) Others have offered to contact their friends and family who live in other states to send me postcards as well. I have never been so excited to check the mail before, every day I rush home excited to see what postcard will be awaiting me.

Let me tell you, the reaction from the students has been really positive. Before each social studies lesson I have been sharing a postcard or two that I've received. Each student has their own map that they color to indicate we've received a postcard from that state. I also created a large classroom display that I color and put the postcards on as well. Every day when I walk into their classroom for co-teaching, they excitedly take out their social studies notebooks and maps. It makes them so sad when I tell them it's a science day, not social studies.

I am so excited to continue this project throughout the school year. I am so thankful for the support from my friends, family, and colleagues. I cannot wait to see if we'll actually get postcards from all of the 50 states!

Comments

[Alyse]

My brother is actually doing something just like this in his 3rd grade class. His teachers were going to do something where each of the students picks their favorite stuffed animal and has a journal with it. If the student knew somebody going on a trip they were to take the animal and journal with. My mom actually suggested to the teacher that somebody probably won't want to take extra time to fill this out on a trip. She instead suggested that each student contact people they know from around the country and world to get postcards. They've gotten postcards from Germany, Australia, Japan and many other places from this and have been loving it.

[Jesse James]

This sounds like a great activity and it seems like the kids are really enjoying it! These types of activities allow the students to learn, while also helping to decrease the amount of time they have to read a book, or do worksheets.

[Nicole]

That is such a GREAT idea! I love it! I am going to have to remember that when I student teach next semester. What a great way to get students interested in learning the dreaded, geography! It's no fun to simply look at a map of the US and try to learn it. This is a great way to get the students excited; they get to see cool pictures from a new part of the world and they are excited to see where that place is, in accordance to them!

[Ashley]

This is a great idea. What an awesome way to learn about different places vicariously. I really appreciate reading about creative ideas like this for when I to have my own classroom. Thanks!

[Karyssa]

This is an amazing idea! It's great that you are giving your students a little taste of parts of the country/world they may not have a chance to visit themselves. And this immediately provides a real-world application for your social studies lessons. I also like Janine's comment about having the students write back to practice writing skills. This is such a great way to make reading, writing, and even math practical and applicable skills. Giving students realistic opportunities to utilize the skills they are learning can make learning so much more fun and interesting. Thanks for sharing your ideas!

[Theresa]

Thank you all for the wonderful comments on my project! I am happy to report that my students are still super excited about getting the postcards and that I am still working on collecting more postcards to share!

I loved hearing about everyone's similar experiences with Flat Stanley and the like. I am glad that those experiences stuck with you and hope that the postcard project will be something that my students remember for a long time to come!

-Theresa

[Alyssa]

LOVE the idea! Very clever. You know you are doing right by the students when you get them excited to do something each day. It makes things even better when you are having just as much fun! This is the perfect example of collaboration in your life. I'm so happy you've had people who are here to support you and assist you as needed. We all need that in our lives, and through our careers. It really tends to be about "who you know" to get what you need in our profession. Keep networking and those connections open for future projects. Also, keep sharing these great ideas! =]

[Morgan]

This idea is so fun! When I was in school, we had a year-long Flat Stanley unit similar to what Kathleen mentioned. It was so fun for us, and even students whose families did not participate were still able to be involved and explore with the class about the United States. I particularly liked your idea, because it does not exclude students whose families might be unresponsive to this activity getting sent home. Each child can participate, doesn't have to rely on their family for their level of class involvement, and requires no pressure on the families of these students. Great idea! This is such a fun way to bring the world to the classroom!

[Rachael]

That is awesome, I can't imagine their faces when receiving those postcards. It's the little things children appreciate in life. I think this is a great idea for students to be able to learn about all different areas of the United States, especially if they never have had the experience to visit anywhere else except for the area they live in. Another idea for helping students learn, if you have computer access. When I took geography in high school and were learning about Europe we had to make ten postcards from "our trip to Europe." We wrote them to family and friends. We had to make the front cover of the postcard and then write a message on the back about what we learned in that country. This is helpful because it works on writing skills and is teaching the students about different aspects of the country. Again, I really liked your idea.

[Kathleen]

Wow! I think this is a GREAT idea! I was wondering what this project was about when I read the title. This project is a very inventive! When I was learning geography in 6th grade, I struggled to learn about each different state and where they were located. I really liked that you incorporated the post cards onto a big map to help the student know where it came from and how far away it came from. GREAT IDEA!!!! I may have to use this idea when I start teaching in my own classroom soon!
My teacher did one lesson and then we have to fill in the maps for ourselves to take the test. I think that getting the post cards and learning about one or two states a day is a fantastic way to get your student involved in the learning more. It also reminds me of the activity we did in elementary school called “Flat Stanly”. Each weekend, a student would take Stanly home and have to do something creative or fun with him and take pictures. The student that took him for the weekend would then tell about their adventures. Then the rest of the students would see the entire collage of pictures and write a story about it. It allowed for many students to find creative things to do around the community (I lived in a small town so it was hard to not do the same thing each weekend).

[Courtney]

I am definitely using this idea when I have my own classroom one day! This is such a cool and fun idea for the students! I feel that you can use the postcards in so many different types of lessons, not in just social studies. You could use it in english and math lessons as well. When you and your students are done collecting all the postcards, maybe each student could pick their favorite postcard and study that state and give a short presentation or write a short paper on the information they found. Just another way of incorporating the postcards into a social studies lesson. I hope you end up getting a postcard from each state! That would be very neat and exciting for the students to see! Keep us updated on this project, good luck!

[Leighann]

This sounds like an awesome project!! I agree with Megan that it is wonderful that this level of cooperation exists among teaching professionals. I am looking forward to becoming a part of the broader education community when I begin my student teaching next spring.

I think that this is an awesome way to keep the students engaged with an activity while learning about a subject that sometimes does not seem that interesting. It is a fun way to learn, and it is not just relying on lecture or notes, and it allows the students to be active participants in their learning. Because of this, perhaps they will be able to understand and comprehend more about these subjects. It is never too early to open students eyes to new places, and through this project, where they are not just reading about a place or listening to a lecture about a place, but receiving post cards from different places puts a whole new dimension on the learning. I am so happy that your students are so excited about social studies, because I know from experience that sometimes this is a difficult task.

This project reminds me of a third grade social studies project I did. My third grade teacher inspired me to become a teacher, and she had a way of making any subject seem fun and engaging. For 3 months, as part of a social studies unit, we sent this stuffed teddy bear named Bon Voyage Bear to relatives houses across the nation, and even one place internationally. We would receive postcards from the family members who "adopted" Bon Voyage bear for those few days telling us what adventures he has had. Each time a new post card came, we put a pin in the big map at the front of the room, and connected the dots with string. This way, it was a visual reminder of where Bon Voyage Bear has traveled. When the journey was complete, Bon Voyage Bear was sent back and with him were little trinkets from each place he had visited. This was an amazing way for third graders to learn about geography, and it was so much fun.

I will use this project, or something like the post card project in my own classroom, because it is just such an exciting project for both students and teachers! Thank you for sharing!!

[Janine Stanton]

LOVE this idea! Not only are they locating where that state is on the map, but they can see the picture (most likely scenery) of what that state is like. Did you have the participants (people who sent the postcards) write the students anything on the back? Or was it just to show the state and image of the card? To exapnd on this maybe bringing it into an English lesson - you could always start a pen-pal with each student maybe with different students in different states - I think it's a great way to reach out to other students/schools and still teach lessons on where the letters are being sent to/how to write a formal letter.
I will definately keep your postcard lesson in mind when I try to come up with other creative lesson ideas.

[Angel Read]

That is a great idea! I will remember this one for the future.

[Kayla]

That is simply awesome! You are making the learning about the states fun and exciting! I always loved the Flat Stan activities where you would send Stan to a family member of friend and they would "take him with them for the weekend" and write back about what they and Stan did. Getting the mail back was so exciting. I think we all love getting mail (as long as it isn't junk). Having the students color on the map where the postcard came from makes it a fun way to learn the geography of the US. Good job finding a fun and engaging way to teach this. I would definitely borrow this idea if I was helping students in this subject. Right now though, I only do math, reading, and written language. Make sure you post if there are any states you do not get postcards from so that maybe your fellow readers can help you out! It's great that you found a way to make this activity work!

[Megan]

This is such a great idea! I love when I read activities like this because it gets the students engaged and active in their learning and they don't have to constantly sit there and read out of a book. They are able to see actual pictures of these places because most of these students don't have the opportunity to travel anywhere. Many of my students won't be able to leave our county, much less our state.

Also, I love reading about different activities like this because I could use them in my classroom or get an idea from it. I like keeping the students on their toes and not doing the same thing every day. I believe they learn more if they are looking forward to coming to class. I love it when a little idea turns into a great learning experience for the students. I am like you where I think of activities and such when I'm on my way home from school or out doing something.

Finally, it is great the cooperation that exists in teaching. It is great that friends, family, etc. could help you out to make the idea successful. It is amazing the cooperation and collaboration that exists in teaching. There is always someone out there that can help you one way or another. The school I'm in now is really great for that. Everyone is always willing to help out anytime they can.