LearningTip #47: Pen Pals and Keypals Can Motivate Children to Write

By Joyce Melton Pagés, Ed.D.
Mother of two children, President of KidBibs

"You've got mail" draws a quick reaction when children hear their name attached to the statement.  Children love getting mail!  It, therefore, seems natural that writing and receiving letters would be motivating to children.  So, for teachers and parents who are trying to motivate children to write, organizing keypal or pen pal relationships can be an excellent way to support children's reading and writing development!

Writing to pen pals or keypals can be very exciting for children.   There are many other benefits to 'pal projects.  They:

• provide a child with a special friend to write to

• give the child something to look forward to (in the mailbox or the e-mailbox)

• are interesting and motivating when the 'pal lives in another state or country

• provide the child with a real purpose and audience for his/her writing

• provide the child with  a real reason to revise his/her writing

• provide the child with spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation practice within the context of real, purposeful writing

• teach children about other countries, customs, and cultures when they have 'pals from other countries

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'Pal projects can be arranged for an individual child or a whole class.  Organization and communication are key to the success of  'pal projects implemented at school.  Teachers should decide in advance how the project will be implemented.  They should plan the starting date, ending date, and how often the exchanges should take place.  Further, they should decide the ways in which the 'pal relationship will be used instructionally.  In other words, is the purpose to simply motivate children to write.  Or, to what extent will social studies, math, or other subjects be integrated into the 'pal project. 

Pen Pals

Keypals

Children's Books about Letter Writing and Pen Pals

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Pen Pals

Traditional pen pals can be a very good way to motivate children to write.   Children share information about themselves, their family, favorite things, interests, hobbies, etc.  An ongoing pen pal relationship can help children learn about each other.  The use of the postal service in a pen pal relationship allows children to exchange photos, coins, and other small items which are interesting to children.  Further, children often enjoy looking at the stamps and letters that come from other places.   Finally, writing "paper" letters provides children with a real reason to learn parts of a letter and how to address an envelope.

There are several ways to find pen pals.  Some magazines for teachers publish the names of teachers wishing to find pen pals for his/her class.  In addition, teachers can communicate through mailrings, class/school web sites, or colleagues to arrange pen pal projects.  Finally, class pen pals can be arranged through Pen-Pal.com.  Some children might enjoy reading books about letter writing, story characters who write letters, or story characters who have pen pals.  These lists are included at the end of this article.

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Keypals

Keypals are pen pals who exchange correspondence via e-mail.  Teachers have used keypals in a wide variety of ways.  There is a tremendous amount of information about keypal projects on the internet.  There are many ways that keypal projects can support student learning.  Stafanie Kahl, a fourth grade teacher at Dunn Elementary School in Arlington, Texas, used keypals in the form of Math Buddies (as described in LearningTip #44).  Teachers all over the world use keypal projects to support student learning in many ways.  Ideas for keypal projects are posted at West Loogootee Elementary School Suggested Topics and Activities.

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For teachers who are just learning about technology, internet projects, and keypals, the following web pages are recommended:

Getting Started on the Internet:  The Key to Keypal Success

Safety Tips for Pen Pal Exchanges

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There are several ways to find keypals.  Tammy Payton, a first grade teacher at West Loogootee Elementary School in Loogootee, Indiana, suggests some strategies here.  In addition, there are web sites which assist teachers and parents in locating keypals for children. 

The following web sites can assist teachers in locating class keypals:

• ePALS links over 850,000 students and teachers from 11,237 self-registered schools and classrooms in 96 countries, speaking 93 languages
  
  
• Teachers and Education in the World (a Russia-based web site by Dr. Victor Barsoukov) posts keypal messages from around the world on the actual web site.

Teachers share their experiences with keypal projects on the following web page:

Getting Started on the Internet: The Key to Keypal Success

Children's Books about Letter Writing and Pen Pals

Children who are communicating with 'pals may enjoy reading children's books about letter writing or pen pals. The following books which are linked to Amazon.com might be of interest to some children:

Pen Pals

Arthur's Pen Pal by Lillian Hoban

My Pen Pal, Pat (Real Kids Readers) by Lisa Papademetriou

My Pen Pal Scrapbook: An Educational Journey Through World Cultures by Shelley Aliotti

The Birthday Mystery/with Puzzle (Puzzling Pen Pal Mysteries) by Patricia Lakin

Amy's Pen Pal (Sweet Valley Twins) by Francine Pascal

Letter Writing

Messages in the Mailbox:  How to Write a Letter by Loreen Leedy

Story Characters Who Write Letters or Postcards

Letters from Felix: A Little Rabbit on a World Tour by Annette Langen and Constanza Droop 

Felix Explores Planet Earth by Annette Langen and Constanza Droop

Felix Travels Back in Time by Annette Langen and Constanza Droop

The Jolly Postman and Other People's Letters by Janet Ahlberg and Allan Ahlberg

Dear Peter Rabbit by Alma Flor Ada and Leslie Tryon

Your's Truly, Goldilocks by Alma Flor Ada and Leslie Tryon

Love, Your Bear Pete by Dyan Shelton and Tania Hurt-Newton.

Stringbean's Trip to the Shining Sea by Vera B. Williams and Jennifer Williams.

Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary and Paul O. Zelinsky.

Conclusion

The reading, writing, and learning benefits of having children write to pen pals or keypals are great.  But, perhaps, the greatest benefit of all is that children are so motivated to write to real people about topics of real interest when they get real mail back!   

© KidBibs International
http://www.kidbibs.com/

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