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Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Tried It Tuesday (pen pals!)

It's time for Tried It Tuesday!  I know just about everyone is back to school and there are many things being "tried".  My team and I always talk after school at the beginning of the year about how far behind we are and all the things we aren't getting done.  Today, we had to remind ourselves that we just finished day THREE!  Haha!  The days just fly by and we never get accomplished what we thought we could.  Does anyone else have that problem?  I can almost see you nodding your head. :)

My Tried It:
Pen Pals
I have LOVED having pen pals for the past two years in my ELA class!  Hands down, the days we received letters from our pen pals were some of the most exciting "educational" days of the year!  There is just something magical about receiving a letter personalized for you from someone somewhere around the country.  The excited buzz throughout the room is just wonderful as they start reading their letters and talking about what their pen pal said or drew for them.  The students always worked hard on their letters and it was an example of a great, authentic assignment.
I was so disappointed to learn that my amazing pen pal from last year wouldn't work out for this year.  If you have been reading my blog, you know that we are departmentalizing now and I am teaching all three sections of ELA.  My pen pal from last year has 27 students and I have 48.  You can read some highlights from my experience with our Indianapolis pen pals from last year here and here.

So, how will I find pen pals for my three ELA classes this year?  I am hoping I can find a pen pal through my blog readers this year again!  I had such great luck last year and this way seems to much better than trying to find one through a site for pen pal requests (I have had problems with that before).

I Would Love to TRY Pen Pals Again This Year!
If you are a 4th grade teacher and need pen pals, please contact me!  I have 48 ELA students this year.  Your student number doesn't have to match exactly because there are always a few students who will volunteer to have more than one pen pal.  I am open to having more than one teacher at a school to pair up with too if you have about 48 students between two or three teachers.  I have three sections of students (17, 16, 15).  I would like to keep the teachers within the same school though so mailings all come together to make planning easier.  

Preferably, it would be nice to have pen pals from an urban area, southern state, or western state since I am in a small, rural town in New York State.  It is fun to have students with different backgrounds.  You can send me an email at lillycharlie2915@gmail.com if you are interested or leave me your email in the comments.  It would be helpful if you let me know where you teach and how many students you have.  Thank you!

UPDATE:  Thank you so much everyone!!!  I paired up with my first response of 4th graders that matched my numbers!!  Guess who?  It is Jivey from Ideas by Jivey and Gary from Scrappy Guy Desgins!!!  Did you know they work together on the same team?  I didn't! Lol! :)  I am super excited and will email those who expressed interest below to checkout some of the comments and send emails to others who may be interested too.  Please feel free to add your comment below if you are looking for a pen pal.  Someone may stop by and check it out!  If you get matched up, you could write that in the "reply" box.  Good luck matching up and thanks again for your support!

I also wanted to give you an update on my "Tried It Tuesday" link in the menu bar.  I haven't been adding more thumbnails under the categories since I saw this:    
Must be there is a limit on the number links on a page and I only have 100 remaining.  Any thoughts or suggestions on this?  I haven't looked into it much but there is probably a subscription fee I can pay to have this number increased.  For now, I will hold off adding more links.  Thank you for your understanding and patience! :)

Don't forget to enter the 1000 Followers Giveaway at Ideas by Jivey!! It's HUGE!!!

24 comments:

  1. I hope you find your pen pals Holly! I just hooked up with Lisa at Grade 4 Buzz and am excited to start pen pals myself -- from Canada no less!

    Have a great day!
    Jennifer
    Mrs. Laffin's Laughings

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  2. I loved having pen pals as a child. I hope you find a pen pal for your students. That kind of learning is the best!

    Andrea
    Reading Toward the Stars

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  3. I love the idea of having pen pals! I wonder if Gary's class would want to do it too? I'll ask him! That would give you a little more than 48! It would be about 50!
    Jivey

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  4. I have 47 4th grade students and would LOVE pen pals!!! We are from CT though, so if not far enough from you, we'd love someone's class somewhere! Let me know!
    Theresa
    Pinkadots Elementary

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  5. I love pen pals - although it can be time consuming for some. It is just so fun around the holidays. I have even exchanged class books and videos of our drama performances - there is just so many options. Hope you find a great class to pair up with :)

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  6. :( I wish I could do it. I only have 22 students. I guess you and I will just have to stick to being email pals. I'm unwilling to give you up.
    Alison
    Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin'

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    1. Alison- I also have 22 students and we live in North Dakota. I teach 4th grade at a very diverse school. Let me know if you want to pair up! Lindsey.n.baumgartner@gmail.com

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  7. Having pen pals is so great. A few years ago my class had pen pals from Alaska-that was a really great experience for my kiddos. Hope you are able to find some for your kiddos.

    Hunter's Teaching Tales
    Find me on Facebook

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  8. I would love to connect with pen pals! We are in a suburban area outside of Cincinnati, and I teach three groups of fourth grade ELA. I have a total of 72 kiddos, though, so it may be too many for you this year.
    If anyone is interested, please let me know!
    Vicky
    phillips_v@nrschools.org

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  9. OOH, I may be able to talk to some of my 4th grade coworkers and get two classes writing to you! I alone will see 17 fourth graders through Title I, but I'm sure two of the classes would be interested. We're rural and semi-southern (VA).

    Don't Let the Teacher Stay Up Late
    Follow me on Bloglovin!

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    1. Hi Melissa,
      Did you ever get matched up with a pen pal group? I have 16 4th grade students, but one of my girls could definitely handle having two pen pals. Let me know if you're interested! We are from the (real) Jersey Shore. :)

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  10. I love the pen pal idea. I wish I had enough students to match your classes. It looks like something my students would love.

    Mary
    Fit to be Fourth
    Follow me on Bloglovin


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    Replies
    1. Mary - Did you find pen pals for your students? I am thinking that my 4th graders would absolutely love to do this. We're in Alabama and I have a total of 33 fourth graders. Let me know if you might be interested - -janiefahey@gmail.com. Thanks!

      Janie
      Are We There Yet?

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  11. Hello From Kentucky..
    As far as New Yorkers go, I am sure they think the big blue state is a big old bunch of hillbillies! I would love to pen pal with you. My two other team mates would jump on this as well. We have 26 in each fourth grade class so you would have some with a couple pen pals! My email is teach3ky@gmail.com. I look forward to this writing opp!!

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    1. Did you find someone to pair up with for penpals? We are outside of Cincinnati, so I don't know if that's far enough from you in KY, but I'm willing to give it a shot. I have 72 fourth graders. Please let me know.
      Vicky
      phillips_v@nrschools.org

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  12. When I was teaching second grade, we had pen pals and the kids absolutely loved it! My aunt is a second grade teacher in California, so we paired up with her. She had a very diverse class (and I didn't) so it really opened up my kids eyes. Good luck with yours!

    Sara :)
    The Colorful Apple

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  13. This sounds fun. If anyone is interested in MA penpals I have 24 students in my 4th grade class. nferreira519@gmail.com

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    1. Nancy-

      Did you ever find anyone to be penpals with? I have 22 students! I teach in North Dakota at a very diverse school! I also teach 4th grade. I currently have students from Somalia and Nepal! Let me know if you are interested! Lindsey.n.baumgartner@gmail.com

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  14. I would LOVE to have pen pals too! I teach 19 5th graders, but I bet my coworkers would be interested too, and that would be about 60 total. We're in a southern state on a military post, so our kids are from all over the place! Let me know if you're interested! mrskristend@gmail.com
    ~Kristen
    Chalk & Apples

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    1. What state are you in? I might be able to get another teacher to be pen pals so we'd have enough 5th graders. I only have 29 (generally I am VERY happy about this).

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  15. My class would love to be pen pals with someone! I have 29 5th graders here in sunny California.
    My email address is ncalderon30@yahoo.com

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  16. I have 24 4th graders in NC and we would love Pen Pals- anyone still looking? You can email me directly at megmarske@gmail.com

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  17. Hi all!
    I have 16 4th graders from the Jersey Shore that would absolutely LOVE communicating with pen pals from another state/region. Please let me know if anyone out there would like to link up our kiddos! You can reach me at cfrancisco@oceanschools.org

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  18. I had many penpals from many countries , its so exciting
    pals24

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