Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/108811
Linking pen pal programs to state standards Diane McEvoy���s pen pal program meets ninth-grade language arts state standards: ��� Demonstrate command of English grammar and conventions. ��� Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts. ��� Produce clear, coherent writing. Susan Levy���s program meets these ���rst-grade standards for writing and social studies: ��� Select a focus when writing. ��� Write informative/explanatory texts that name a topic, supply some facts about the topic and provide some sense of closure. ��� Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. ��� Print all uppercase and lowercase letters. ��� Use common, proper and possessive nouns. ��� Recognize the ways in which they are all part of the same community, sharing principles, goals, and traditions despite their varied ancestry; the forms of diversity in their school and community; and the bene���ts and challenges of a diverse population. graders in Susan Levy���s first-grade class at Chaparral Elementary School. The two Las Virgenes Educators Association members decided to start a pen pal program after Levy lost her job as a high school librarian and transferred to the elementary school. ���Over a glass a wine, we decided a pen pal program would benefit our students ��� and it���d be a good way for us to stay in touch,��� says Levy. McEvoy���s students write letters to their young friends about what they���ve been Clockwise from top: Diane McEvoy reads a letter to Juliet Alpert. Troy Adler shares his pen pal���s note with classmates. A student���s letter to a pen pal. doing, and often include funny drawings. Roman Williams, for example, drew a picture of himself looking stuffed after eating ���yummy food��� at a holiday meal. ���I love writing to Nick,��� says Williams. ���It���s a lot of fun and reminds me of myself when I was young. He says the same kinds of things I said at that age.��� The letters are put into folders with photos of both pen pals on the cover. McEvoy delivers them to Levy a few blocks away. Both teachers read the letters aloud to the 6-year-olds. ���In the beginning, first-graders had to sound some of the words phonetically. As the year progresses, they formulate entire sentences,��� says McEvoy. ���My high school students are so impressed and proud to see how far they���ve come.��� Her student Joe Wayne takes being a pen pal very seriously. ���I am a role model,��� he says. ���My pen pal looks up to me, and I feel responsible for that. I want to him to grow up and enjoy life and not to be cynical.��� Vladimir Sergieiev, 6, always looks forward to getting letters. ���I like everything about it,��� he says. ���I can hardly wait to meet my pen pal.��� Pen pals meet at the end of the year during a picnic. ���It���s usually a tearfest,��� says McEvoy. ���The older ones are usually crying. The little ones ��� well, they are just happy.��� February 2013 www.cta.org 33