Tracy Bell
SLM 521
Elective #14
Key Pals
Having
pen pals was a favorite of mine growing up and I would love for my future
students to experience the camaraderie it creates. Key pals and Epals create
the opportunity for students to participate in instructional activities with
students all over the world.
Five
Activities and Ideas for Use in the Elementary Classroom
Have students exchange email addresses and
IM and email each other on a weekly basis to discuss their daily lives.
Have students write poetry about each other
after one of their weekly chat sessions.
Have students track the weather and create graphs.
Have students participate in a school-wide
reading initiative to see what school can read the most books.
Assign students to an Epal of the same age
and as a homework buddy. They can then discuss difficulties they may be having and
offer assistance.
Websites
that will help begin your search for Epals:
1.
Epals.com
This
website is an extensive site that allows the teacher to connect her students to
191 countries that comprise a total of 132 languages. The website is not limited to just epals but
collaboration projects as well. I found
the site to also be very useful to teachers by providing a teacher’s guide,
case studies, and a discussion board.
(http://www.epals.com/) Date visited
2.
Kid World
This
website is a place where children aged 8-13 and older can interact with
children from all over the world. This
site also has a place for students to submit poetry and jokes, play games, and
a place where students can enter writing contests. This site is very kid
friendly. (http://www.bconnex.net/~kidworld/) Date visited