The Merrillville Education Foundation funded a grant to provide a unique learning experience for every fourth grade student in the Merrillville schools. Each fourth grade student was paired up with a pen pal from a different elementary school. The goal was for students to correspond with students from other buildings before they are all combined at Merrillville Intermediate School for fifth grade.
Each classroom was supplied a piece of literature around which students could structure their letters. This year the classes read the book Wonder by R. J. Palacio. The story is about a child with a facial deformity and his first experience with public school. The story takes the reader through the difficulties of being the new kid at school while trying to survive life with an extraordinary face.
Having a pen pal is an old idea especially with all of the advances in technology. Children today aren't used to writing letters. They email or text one another. This program taught students about the importance of letter writing while building a friendship with a student from another school.
All of the fourth grade students met at the field house at Merrillville High School at the end of May as the culminating activity. Students played a getting-to-know-you game and then discussed the book that they had all read. They also played a game involving trivia questions from the book.
The fourth grade students enjoyed the time they spent getting to know students from the other elementary schools while learning about diversity and acceptance through a piece of literature.
