The Influential Teacher | The Highlight of Second Grade

This video is about two second grade teachers letting their students be pen pals. They got the idea because they used to be pen pals when they were in elementary school and it led to a lifetime friendship. Both became teachers at the schools they attended and now have their own students writing to each other. The children cannot wait to receive letters from their pen pals.

What a great idea to have pen plas with other second graders in town. Students today are learning how to text and IM and are getting away from writing letters accurately. Texting has really affected their writing skills. I saw this when I was reviewing a paper typed by a 12th grader. He used the texting language instead of correct grammar all through his paper.

In second grade, students are just learning about sentence structure and how to write on lined notebook paper. This would be great practice for them to use complete sentences and work on handwriting while making friends, possibly for life.

Do you think your students would like the idea of having a pen pal?
What affect do you think it would have on their writing and language skills?
What grade levels do you think this is most appropriate for?