By Joan Tornow, Ph.D., Writer-in-Residence

Note: Children’s writing is represented here in “as is” form, with misspellings intact, in order to best represent children’s challenges and thinking processes. –[Author]  

“I have so much I want to write that I feel like my head is going to explode!” said third grade student, Mariah, as she sat at her desk, working on her first pen pal letter. Mariah was one of 26 students in a diverse classroom in inner-city Seattle. One day earlier, she and her classmates had received introductory letters from pen pals in an equally diverse classroom in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

When the teacher, Michael Findley, and I (a volunteer/researcher) heard Mariah say this, we exchanged smiles. The project was off to a good start! After all, the goal of this particular workshop activity was to tap into children’s deep desire to write about themselves in their own way and to connect with a real audience. The excitement in the air was palpable.

The letters from Santa Fe had arrived to much fanfare. They had been written by fifth grade students in a class taught by Emily Ames, a friend and former colleague. While we at first wondered whether the fifth grade/third grade link was ideal, we quickly found that the age difference didn’t reduce the enthusiasm and, in fact, had certain advantages. 1) It removed any possible tendency for comparison. 2) It gave the fifth graders a sense of proficiency and mentoring. 3) It gave the third graders a sense of being in the “big leagues” and of having a window into what lay ahead in their schooling.

Logistics In launching the project, Mr. Findley (in Seattle) had explained to his students how it would work and had led them in group brainstorming – generating a list of things they could write about. This included a list of questions to ask their pen pals. The result of this session was kept visible on a chart throughout the project. Ms. Ames (in Santa Fe) produced a similar chart with her students. The idea was to provide scaffolding that would help break the ice and get the ball rolling.

It was decided that Ms. Ames’s students, the older students, would write the initial letters. Both teachers, in turn, would place the student letters in a flat-rate priority envelope and send them winging their way to an eager audience of children living far away. The first round of letters included photographs of each child which helped make the pen pals more “real.” 

Maps were used in both classes to highlight the location of the pen pal state and city. This brought geography into the project. Mr. Findley’s students were fascinated when they learned about high deserts in New Mexico – especially how it snows on a high desert! They were interested in the different kinds of wildlife that live there. 

Ms. Ames’s students learned about Puget Sound. And, they were excited to hear that Mt. Rainier is not just the highest mountain in Washington State, but also a dangerous volcano. Online, Ms. Ames acquired a batch of inexpensive unused postcards of New Mexico. Students picked one and wrote a bit about it, sometimes doing research to enhance their descriptions. So, the geography learning occurred in both cities.

Matching of Students:  The matching of students took many factors into account and was worked out via emails and phone calls. The Santa Fe class included a student with special needs whose writing was significantly below grade level. At first, the plan was to match this girl with an advanced student in the Seattle class who would understand her pen pal’s struggles with writing and accept the limits of the correspondence. On further reflection, we decided to match this student with an ELL student (a boy) in the Seattle class who had been in the country only a short time and who was struggling with rudimentary English. This match seemed to work well. Each of the students initially wrote only one-page, and because neither was faced with reading and responding to a letter of many pages, the task of correspondence became do-able and appropriate.

The first exchange between these two students consisted of a few sentences on their favorites: Thanh, the ELL student in Seattle, responded to the first letter as follows: My favorite teacher is Mr. Findley. I am 3 grade. My favorite subject is reading. My favorite color is blue. My favorite food is strawberries. Thanh was able to copy the word “favorite” from a chart and then refer to his own letter for repetitions. He seemed intent on filling the page, and did so by drawing a row of strawberries which he subsequently labeled above with numerals – 1, 2,3, 4,5,6,7 and underneath with letters, A,B,C,D,E,F,G. He thus used this occasion to both practice and use the English language skills he was in the process of mastering.

Julie, the special needs student in Santa Fe, wrote back, I like your letter. You are so cute. She went on to list her favorites, going beyond the list generated by her class. Indeed, the letter exuded a sense of voice: Today it is snowing outside. I like to snowball fight. I like to go on the computer and type. I have a favorite pair of pants. They are blue jeans. I love to eat an apple. Do you drink juice? I love apple juice! Please write me back. Sincerely, Julie. P.S. Happy Valentine’s Day. This letter was almost twice the size of her first letter, demonstrating genuine engagement.

Similarly, Thanh’s second letter was twice as long as his first – ten sentences as compared to five in his first one. True, it was two months later, and he was learning at a fast pace. Plus, this letter was about the field trip, and he had a lot to say. His sense of audience was evidenced in his closing question, Haw you went to a filed trip?

Asking and Answering Questions: The children expressed enthusiasm in reading the letters they received and in responding as soon as possible. In her first letter, Sarah, a fifth grader from Santa Fe, wrote, My favorite color is neon pink. I love cats; all cats. I love to read. I hate sports. She then launched into a litany of questions: Do you like reading? Do you like sports? What’s your favorite color? Book? Place? Where were you born? Do you like cats? Do you like to smile? I do.

Although beginning with topics from the chart, Sarah arrived at a topic of special interest to her at the time: smiling. Her next paragraph was an expansion of this topic:

I think it is good for you to smile. Smiling makes you happy. If you are happy, it makes others happy. If you are happy it makes everyone around you happy. It is good to be surrounded by happiness.

Lumie’s letter of response addressed Sarah’s questions: I was born in Seattle. But I lived most of my life in Philippines. She went on to share that her favorite color was also pink. And then, this sentence: I love dogs, all dogs. It is interesting how her sentence structure was apparently influenced by Sarah’s sentence: I love cats, all cats. She continued: I love to read to. I love sports. Why don’t you like sports? This question, along with many others that Lumie wrote, indicated a true curiosity in her pen pal. Lumie also addressed the smiling topic: I like smiling so people around me is happy just like me! I love my family! Do you? How much people is in your family that live at your house? How much sisters and brothers do you have in your family?

One of the instructions given to these young writers was to help readers form a picture in their mind. If the picture is fuzzy, you need to say more so that the picture in the reader’s mind will be like the picture in your mind. It seemed that Lumie’s questions reflected her effort to truly picture Sarah, especially in the context of her family. Lumie also strove to visualize Sarah’s city of Santa Fe: In Santa Fe does it have lots of trees there?

Sarah wrote back: It is gorgeous in Santa Fe. There are mountains everywhere. It is dry and cold here. No, we don’t have a lot of trees, but we have a lot of bushes. She continues, I don’t like sports because I’m not that good at them. And as to her family, My parents are divorced, so I have two homes. I have one sister, and no brothers.

Sarah then took on a mentoring role: Lumie, your cursive is gorgeous. You look pretty in your picture. You seem nice. I’m glad you like to smile. She then launched a new round of questions, going well beyond the scope of the class chart. For example, she wrote: Do you like odd things? I like tarantulas at a distance.

Both girls always closed their letters with “warm fuzzies” that indicated the joy they derived from this authentic writing project:

Lumie: I am so happy to be your pen pal.

Sarah: I’m glad you’re my pen pal. Thank you for writing. I like you. It is good to smile. Sure we’ll be good friends.

At the bottom of her second letter, Sarah added this: P.S. It is good to cry, too. P.S.A. What is your favorite word? Mine is germinate. It means sprout. [She explained that the A in PSA stood for “again.”]

Lumie’s next letter included the following: We had a Multicultural assembly. I dance a Filipino dance called the carinosa. It’s a Spanish word! It was so fun! But I was nervous though. The only way to stop it is to take a deep breath. And so I had fun.

And Sarah responded: That Phillopino dance sounds like fun. I bet you were nervous (Try holding the breath in for 3 seconds. It will help.)

The two girls also wrote about the changing weather as winter turned to spring. And they each chronicled field trips in their respective cities--Lumie writing of the class trip to the International District of Seattle, Sarah describing a comic opera in Santa Fe called “Music or Words” in which the main characters -- argued over which was more important in an opera, music or words. They fell in love in the end.

What seems apparent is the authentic voice as these two pen pals “talked” about what matters to them. They shared questions and answers with thoughtfulness and kindness, making a true human connection through writing.

Of course, not all students were as prolific as Sarah and Lumie -- or as careful in responding to each topic raised by their pen pal. Sam and Mario wrote shorter letters and their investment in the project took more time to develop. But the authenticity was still there as they shared, for example, details about their favorite sports. Mario’s favorite sport was soccer while Sam was heavily into basketball and baseball. This meant that some of their queries about favorite players and teams went unanswered. Still, their writing about sports tapped into topics that mattered to each. And, they discovered a common interest in drawing. Mario loved drawing dinosaurs and included a drawing with each letter. Sam commented, I love to draw, and I really liked the picture of the dinosaur. Sam also took on a big-brother persona, commenting, I think you are a great kid.

Multicultural Sharing: Overall, the third grade students tended to model their letters closely on the letters they received. When fifth grade Valerie (Santa Fe) wrote to Mariah (Seattle), she included this sentence: My family and I speak another language. We speak Chinese, Mandarin. In her reply, Mariah wrote, My family speaks another language. We are Filipino. Mariah was so careful to answer each and every question that she even wrote an answer to a question she apparently didn’t understand. To the question, Do you have any siblings? she responded, I do not have any siblings. This, in spite of the fact that she had earlier named the people in her family, including a 14-year-old brother.

As Valerie’s and Mariah’s correspondence continued, the two students began to branch away from the lists of “favorites.” Valerie wrote that it is interesting that Mariah is Filipino and that My Dad’s auntie comes from the Philippines. She then asked, Have you moved in your life? Do you have earrings? Here, as in the correspondence between Sarah and Lumie, Valerie seemed to be reaching for a deeper connection around topics of special importance to her. Mariah had written that her favorite foods were spaghetti and Asian food, and Valerie wrote back: Since you like Asian food, my parents own a Chinese restaurant. It’s called the Wok. After school, I work there. Also, I get paid for it.

Mariah wrote back: I wish I could meet you and your family and school in person. I would have the best discovery. And, she added, Maybe you can come to Seattle with your family and visit our school. Mariah likewise began to share more of her own personal topics: Are you an aunt? I am. Have you ever been camping? I haven’t, but I’m going to. She mentioned that she used to have two dogs … but one ran away and the other got sent to the pound. I really miss them. And so, personal narrative began to crop up in the letters. Along with this gem: What kind of writing do you like? I like poetry.

China became a topic in this exchange, and Mariah wrote, Our class is going on a field trip to the International District. It is where Asian people stay and where businesses are. I heard that in China, there are lots of people. Have you ever been to China before? I haven’t. I would love to though. What do you do on Chinese New Year? I bet it’s fun!

The interest that Mariah expressed in Valerie’s Chinese culture was impressive. And, it would be hard to come up with a better example of being sensitive to one’s audience. In fact, Mariah proceeded to write another letter – eight pages long – about the field trip to the International District. She described the bus trip, the Asian supermarket, the Danny Woo Community Garden, the lunch at Sun Ya Chinese Restaurant, the Wing Luke Museum, and the ride home. This letter was full of rich descriptions, describing special people -- the community guide, the seafood specialist at the supermarket, the guide at the Community Garden, the friends she sat with on the bus and lunch, her teacher, and the literacy volunteer (me). 

In Mariah's description of the community garden, she wrote, The guide showed us worms and bugs. He told us how it became a garden. We smelled lots of cow poop. He told us that we smelled poop because there was poop. The poop helps dirt. We saw lots of plants and vegetables. Of the Asian Museum, she wrote, It was started by Wing Chong Luke. But I think he already died. One cannot help but notice, and appreciate, the child-like point of view in these letters. This is evidence that the voice being expressed is an authentic one.

In her next letter, Valerie responded to Mariah’s questions: No, I’m not an aunt, but I wish. No, I have not been camping. Where are you going camping? And, this delight: My favorite kind of writing is writing letters. To Mariah’s question about Chinese New Year, she wrote, For Chinese New Year, the tradition is we give money to our family members. It’s fun getting money for Chinese New Year. Valerie also clarified her role at her parents’ restaurant: I don’t actually work at the Wok. When it’s busy, I help out.

Valerie began her next letter with a string of compliments: I love your cursive and your drawing. That was also just amazing and beautiful. You’re also very pretty. I love your name. Later in the letter, she took on a big-sisterly role: Fifth grade is not super hard, but just hard. Right now we are learning about naming decimal numbers. In Spelling we’re learning about prefixes and suffixes. She was careful to answer the questions: I moved one time when I was very little. I used to have earrings, but not any more. She went on to say that she wasn’t given a middle name at birth, So I made one, and it is Anastacia.

She expressed interest in the field trip: I didn’t know poop helps dirt. That is very interesting.  

Choosing Topics of Special Interest: Mariah had mentioned the WASL test  -- Washington's test (since replaced) on basic skills - and Valerie responded, I don't know what a wasl is, but my teacher says that it might be a test. Is that right?

Many of the Santa Fe students wrote about their class play, “The Environmental Message.” Wrote Valerie, It is about garbage. Not to throw so much trash in the ocean. Here are other excerpts from spontaneous descriptions of the play:

Kim: All the animals of the ocean go to a floating summit and shout ‘clean air,’ ‘clean water!

Jasmyn: We have written it ourselves. I am a parrot called Perry. He almost drowns because of the smell of a factory.

Maria: I play an agent for the President and Vice President. I only have to lines but agents don’t say much.

When children write about such experiences as a class play or a field trip, they are crossing the educational terrain a second time, an additional opportunity to reflect and make meaning from the experience. So, as rich as these experiences were, in and of themselves, writing about them in letters enhanced the learning.

Letter-Writing as a Way to Generate “Hot Topics”:  In writing to their peers, children included more and more of their own personal interests. For example, Julie (Seattle) asked her pen pal, Did you ever go to the doctor a lot of times? I did. I had to get 3 shots. It hurted really bad. Shama wrote half a page about all the chores she has at home. Cheveyo, a reluctant writer, spontaneously came up with this in his first letter: On New Year’s, I lit all kinds of fireworks. He added, I am native American. Jackson wrote, I like to look at animals and see what they do. The other day my dad told me that he saw an eagle catch a pigeon in the air. Jasmyn wrote: Something interesting about me is that I eat hot dogs and hamburgers withut a bun. I just do that. It has become a habit for me. Is there something interesting abut you?

These topics -- going to the doctor, doing chores, lighting fireworks, observing animals, or other “interesting things about me” -- are all potential “hot topics” for these children to explore, in the future, for more fully fleshed out essays.

Photographs and Drawings: The Seattle students had a few single-use cameras which they used to take photographs during their trip to the International District. The photographs helped the students focus their attention during the trip and generated great conversations back in the classroom. Each child chose one photo to send to the pen pal, along with a description; photos were also displayed on the pen-pal bulletin board.

Fond of drawing, Cheveyo used this activity as a springboard to writing. His pen pal, Michael, responded that he could draw good, to, and drew an eagle in his next letter, a detail that Cheveyo loved. Throughout the project, Cheveyo made incremental progress in his fluency and expressed more interest and pleasure in this writing project than in any other.

"Growth Tip" in Writing: In studying the letters, teachers saw the “growth tip” for individual writers, as well as areas of common concern that point toward timely minilessons – brief lessons on some aspect of writing. Sometimes it was the pen pal who, in effect, provided the minilesson. For example, in describing the fish shown to them at the Japanese market, Julie wrote, I touched the eye. But a lot of people were touching the tongue. Her pen pal wrote back, What did the fish feel like when you touched it? This question provided a great example of audience wanting to know more. Other writing skills that surfaced were good openings and closings, good follow-up on questions, and so forth.

Writing Conventions: The main value of this pen pal project was to develop fluency and motivation. In this context, students were reminded to write clearly and carefully, but they were not required to rewrite or correct their letters to any great degree. They were encouraged to read their letters over several times to see if there were any places that might confuse their pen pals. This led to the addition of periods and quotation marks, as well as a few changes in spelling. Both teachers discovered topics for future minilessons.

Expression of Limitations and Commonalities: It was interesting to see students confess their limitations, as when Sophie wrote, The other day in art we drew the human body. Mine didn’t look so good. Students were also eager to find common ground, such as when Eliza wrote to Lora, I think we do have something in common. We both have been to Denver and California and we have the same amount of kids in our class and we both have the same favorite colors.

Similarly, when Jasmyn wrote, I really like cats, the color lime green, and popcorn, her pen pal Khalia wrote back, I love popcorn, kittens.

Friendship and Encouragement: Students also used writing to express friendship and to encourage each other:

You have nice handwriting.

The field trip you went on sounds cool. I love the picture!

You are very creative. I really liked the pictures of the dinousaurs.

The Tactile Aspect of Handwritten Letters:  Unlike electronic communications, these letters were actual tactile artifacts -- handwritten and sent through the US Postal Service. The communication did not occur instantly, as in email. Rather, the missives were sent by “snail mail,” and the answers took time – usually two or three weeks. This experience with “old-fashioned” letter writing included delayed gratification, adding to the excitement when each bulging envelope of letters arrived. 

Children seemed to understand that these were unique and personal gifts. They took pride in the aesthetics of the letters – carefully decorating the margins with colored pencils or enhancing their signature with a special flourish. Each student saved the received letters in an appealing folder that looked like a map. At the end of the school year, they took these folders home, having a permanent memento of this authentic writing experience.

Conclusion:  The teachers and students considered this project a success. The excitement and pleasure expressed by the students grew stronger with each new round of letters. The letters tended to be longer and more detailed, taking into account the needs of the far-away correspondents. Thanh commented, “I have a friend in another state!” and Mariah said of her pen pal, “I feel like I know her and she knows me even though we never met.” Although a few years apart in age, the children discovered common ground. Moreover, their enthusiasm and perseverance showed a sincere desire to form a genuine bond with their pen pal. The teachers felt the project developed enduring motivation around the complementary acts of writing and reading, as witnessed by the following student comments:

Jasymn: I could write a million more pages, but I want to wrap this up. Hope you write back soon.

Mario: Please send a letter fast because I like having a pen pal.