I usually have my Seesaw pen pals class set up before I provide tech support for our video chat introduction (Google Meet or Zoom). Then, we're ready to jump right in and start sending notes or photos or projects. In traditional Seesaw classrooms, each student is listed separately in the class journal (found on the far right), but in this case, each 'student' is a pen pal pair. See the example class to the right.
Traditional Seesaw classrooms also send a parent letter home (provided by Seesaw) for parents to access their student's learning portfolio. I turn off this feature in your 'Manage Class' settings because both students share personal information as they feel comfortable sharing their world. I recommend informing parents about the digital pen pals class and to explain privacy issues. |
I've created a practice pen pals classroom for you to explore, which can be accessed by scanning this QR code. Practice uploading projects to a pen pal user name (it doesn't matter which one). Have fun practicing using the six features right in the app. Open the Seesaw app (or go to seesaw.me to log in) and then scan the QR code. Don't scan it from a QR code reader because it won't work!
NOTE: NEVER share your child's QR code from any Seesaw classroom online. This QR code is shared solely as a practice for this pen pal activity. |
Resources to Share With Your Class
Pen pals may be a bit scary for your students at first. Here are two of my favorite readalouds, which not only introduce pen pals, but also highlights how your students may feel in the process.
Written by Josh Funk, George and Blaise struggle with what to say and develop a relationship where they discover their similarities as they write and their differences when they meet in person at the end of the year. Fantastic read!!
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Written by Gloria Rand, A Pen Pal for Max touches the reader's heart as we experience how one pen pal relationship greatly impacted a classroom on the other side of the world. For those classrooms who want to be difference makers in our wild, beautiful world, this story is for you!
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