For this project, I found a class that had been severely affected by Hurricane Harvey. We communicated across the country and became Pen Pals with a class in Orange, Texas. We used the students in a 3rd grade class as our experts and sources of information. They were our research providers. They taught us how hurricanes formed, as well as told us how Hurricane Harvey directly affected their lives. They use this research as well as some they found on their own, to create presentations / projects that portrayed what they had learned.

This project allowed for empathy as students got to experience the effects of a hurricane through the shoes of their Pen Pals. Everything their Pen Pals, lost in the storm, my students were able to relate to. They were able to feel the sadness, feel the fear, and feel the sense of community during rebuilding. I was also able to communicate with the classroom teacher, and she shared photos of her classroom damage as well as damage to her home. When the water receded from the classroom, the teacher went in the find everything covered in mold. The classroom had all wood paneling, and therefore soaked up all the water and had to be completely gutted. This year they are housed in the intermediate school, and hope to be back to their school next year. Many of the students have been living in RVs and trailers in their yards as they wait for repairs to be finished.

During this project, we were able to hit multiple cross-curricular standards. They learned how to research, they learned about hurricanes, they planned and revised, and they wrote, a lot! I loved their excitement when they got their letters, and I love how it made letter writing have a purpose. All of this was wonderful to see, and very rewarding as a teacher!

These are not perfect, they are authentic and exhibit the student's personalities, interests, and dedication to this project. Students were innovative and creative after I told them a "basic" PowerPoint was no longer a choice! Enjoy! We have a variety of "Reporters" interviewing their Pen Pals, PowerPoints with a twist, IPEVO videos combined using iMovie, Puppet Pals, paperback books, and Book Creators.

Students posted their projects to Schoology. After presentations, students commented on classmate's projects!

-What surprised you?

I was surprised at how well my students wrote, and how willing they were to make revisions and rewrite. They really wanted their Pen Pals to be impressed with their writing! It turned writing into a real, outside of the classroom activity.

-What would you change?

I think that in the future I would do an e-mail exchange. The problem with this might be the lack of technology following a severe storm, but a solution would be having the Pen Pal class teacher scan and email the letters to help with the wait time.

I would also take away PowerPoint as a “main” option for the project. Many of my students told me these awesome ideas, and then when it was time to work, they jumped right onto the PowerPoint train! They are comfortable with that, which I empathize with, as new is sometimes scary, but I feel as if a simple PowerPoint does not portray all the months of work we have put into this.

-Did teaching/learning change as a result of your project?

Absolutely, my teaching and learning time changed a lot during this project. A lot less of my time was direct instruction about storms, and a lot more was conferencing and circulating around the room to check in on where everyone was on their project, and where they needed assistance. Each day we started the day with discussing individual goals for that day's work time, and we closed the day discussing what their game plan was for the following day. This allowed students to think about their needs, as well as let me know where they needed more help.

Next year it would be good to make a journal to go along with daily work to keep track of planning. During this time, my students became more independent, and had a vested interest in their Pen Pal and their project. Overall it was a fun project and was very successful.