Alvin ISD student connect through cross-district pen pals

Two teachers in Alvin ISD are making a big difference in the lives of their students. Nelson Elementary Second Grade teacher Cindy Nguyen and Sanchez Elementary first grade teacher Shelly Tran combined forces to find new, creative ways to make writing fun for their students.

This dynamic mother-daughter teaching duo thought it would be fun to partner their students as email pen-pals during the school year. They brought their students together digitally on a Google Meet meet and greet, right before they went on Thanksgiving break.

Students were able to say hello to their pen-pals and fellow classmates, and take this time to share some projects that they and their class had been working on.

The first project the students worked on together involved writing poetry. It challenged them to think outside of the box while honing their creative writing skills. Each class is now working together on a buddy poems project, that they will be sharing with the class on either Google Slides or Google Docs during their next video call.

The teachers will then spotlight their pieces, and highlight the positive impact of teamwork and project-based learning. Students have been sharing how much they enjoy emailing their penpal, while excitedly waiting for their next response.

This fun and unique approach to project-based learning has given students the tools and environment to work with fellow classmates on creative projects, all while navigating the fun new challenge of brainstorming and working together, remotely.