Originally published on 3/12/21
Cindy Nguyen, second grade teacher at Nelson Elementary, and Shelly Tran, first grade teacher at Sanchez Elementary, have come together this year to help their students learn to love writing in exciting ways. Nguyen and Tran, a mother/daughter pair, decided to partner their students as pen pals and allow them to communicate with each other. “I love that we get to talk about lots of things that we love! I love how we're always nice and happy with each other when we send our emails," one of the students said.
The students engaged in a meet and greet right before Thanksgiving break via Google Meet to say hello and share a project both classes had been working on. The connections are only beginning as an upcoming poem project is going to challenge the students to think outside of the box.
“We will be meeting again soon to discuss a buddy poems project where our students will be paired up to create a poem and present it by using a Google Doc or Google Slides,” Mrs. Nguyen shared. “We will then spotlight these writing pieces as it relates directly to project based learning.” Several students shared how exciting it was to learn how to receive an email, check their inbox, and just simply connect.
The classes are learning how to work collaboratively with students who happen to live across the district, and are sharing their ideas with their fellow classmates. Plus, Nguyen’s class has become role models for Tran’s students as they have someone to look up too.