Cross-Town Pen Pals: Support Multiculturalism in Classrooms
- Jan 19
- 5 min read
Karla Klemme, Chouteau Elementary, North Kansas City
Introduction
The main objective of this pen pal project was to use diverse books representing cultures around the world to make connections with students in a different classroom in the district. Students used multicultural books to collaborate throughout two reading units that focused on theme, inferring, and point of view. The students communicated their learning through post cards, videos, and posting on an online site called Padlet. This immersive experience introduced students to new points of view and different ways of life. It also addressed important themes such as empathy, breaking down stereotypes, understanding biases, and fostering self-esteem.
Step-by-Step Plan
Get permission from the administrator to carry out the project.
Find a collaborating teacher.
Finalize with the partner teacher which units and books will be used for the project.
Purchase the multicultural books.
Write a letter to the collaborating classroom introducing your classroom and explaining the project.
The collaborating class responds through their choice of communication.
Have the books for the first unit delivered to the other classroom.
Teach the first decided upon teaching points.
Students collaborate through Padlet with a student from the other classroom who read the same book.
Have the second round of books delivered to the collaborating classroom.
Teach the decided upon teaching points.
Have students collaborate through video with a student from the other classroom who read the same book.
Students end the project by writing a letter to one another explaining their favorite book.
Materials
The Most Beautiful Thing by Kao Kalia Yang
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
The Year We Learned to Fly by Jacqueline Woodson
A Map into the World by Kao Kalia Yang
Lubna and Pebble by Wendy Meddour
Let the Children March by Monica Clark-Robinson
The Water Princess by Susan Verde
Nadia’s Hands by Karen English
Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao by Kat Zhang
Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan
The Sandwich Swap by Queen Rania of Jordan Al Abdullah
One Green Apple by Eve Bunting
The Mexiglish Girl/ La Chica Mexiglish by Natalia Simons
Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall
Ravi’s Roar by Tom Percival
Lunch Every Day by Kathryn Otoshi
Sustainability
The collaborating teacher and I have enjoyed the students’ interaction with their pen pals. It brought them joy to share their learning with a student from another school. Since the other teacher and I already have the books, we can continue the project year after year. This project can work for any grade level by adjusting the book list and communication.
Reflections
Through their study on multicultural literature and its potential, Singer and Smith (2003) suggest that “it is the responsibility of the teacher to bring in a broader perspective of the world, and to create a classroom climate where students engage in critique of both the text and their own perspective” (p. 22). This project brought representations of many cultural groups that make up the community, society, and the world in which students live to promote awareness, empathy, and acceptance of others. As I added more multicultural books into my classroom library, I saw a boost of self-esteem and engagement in my diverse students as they connected to the themes and characters. My collaborating teacher reported her students were able to connect to the books as well as finding similar aspects of their lives in different cultures.
Morcom (2022) discovered through three year-long research projects that “peer interaction supports the development of communication, social and emotional competencies required for effective collaborative learning” (p. 1530). This project did just that! The anticipation students had when they saw the envelope of letters from their pen pals was infectious. Both my collaborating teacher and I saw our students’ communication skills grow each time they recorded videos and wrote online posts or letters. She and I connected often, sharing photos and anecdotes of our students communicating with each other. Engagement and motivation increased for all involved as we saw students taking extra pride in the work they were sharing with a peer across town.
Throughout this project, I have gained insight on how to improve it for subsequent years. There are 5 things I will adapt:
Include letter writing lessons—even though students put in a great deal of effort, they could use some help in writing a formal letter.
Collaborate on the timing of lessons—my collaborating teacher and I didn’t complete pen pal communication at the same time, so our classes were off a week at times which made some students inpatient to hear from their pen pal.
Expand book list—not all the titles I ordered addressed targeted themes.
Culminate the pen pal project with a picnic at a park.
Choose more than two units for collaboration—students would have enjoyed more opportunities to engage with their pen pals.
Recommendations
I highly recommend finding a collaborating teacher to bring the magic of pen pals to your students. When planning, be sure to choose your books carefully with your learning objectives in mind. Multicultural literature provides the “possibilities to interact, to learn about people whose experiences, cultures, social and economic situations, and heritages that differ from their own may only be possible through the literature that is available to them in school” (Robinson, 2013, p. 50). Students increased their social skills while recalling learned material. They were able to practice reading, writing, speaking, and listening as they shared their learning. It also supported educational technology in the classroom.
Salas et. al (2002) make the following recommendations for finding accurate and authentic quality literature to put into students’ hands.
1. Characters should be authentic, not stereotyped.
2. Characters should be balanced with regard to physical, social, and emotional attributes.
3. The setting should be consistent with either a historical or contemporary time frame.
4. The themes and values should be consistent with the specific culture depicted.
5. The illustrations, gender roles, and information about the culture should be accurate.
6. The selection should be rich in cultural details.
7. The selection should include an authentic interaction between characters with a cultural group or between two or more cultural groups.
8. There should be a purpose for including members of a "minority" group, not just to fill a quota of sorts.
9. The selection should invite reflection, critical analysis, and response.
(pp.4-5)
References
Morcom, V. (2022). Social practices and relational agency to support student collaboration: A sociocultural perspective. Issues in Educational Research, 32(4), 1530-1547.
Robinson, J. A. (2013). Critical approaches to multicultural children’s literature in the elementary classroom: Challenging pedagogies of silence. New England Reading Association Journal (48)2, 43-51.
Salas, R. G., Lucido, F., & Canales, J. (2002). Multicultural literature: Broadening young children’s experiences (ED468866). ERIC. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED468866.pdf
Singer, J. Y. & Smith, S. A. (2003). The potential of multicultural literature: Changing understanding of self and others. Multicultural Perspectives, 5(2), 17-23. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327892MCP0502_4
