Snail Mail Connections

SNAIL Connections MAIL

There are many ways to communicate, and our Year 2 students did it the traditional way with another group of Year 2s via post. What was their experience like? Read on to find out more.

Technology has changed communication in more ways than one, but who can forget the excitement when we receive a real letter from a friend living in a different country? That was what our Year 2 children experienced in Term 1 when they started exchanging letters with another group of Year 2s in Berkshire, England.

It all started when Tanglin alumna Charlotte McNamara (p40) reached out to Head of Infant School Paula Craigie to propose a letter exchange between their schools. She explained: “Spending my childhood and growing up in an amazing country like Singapore inspired me. I wanted to share with my Year 2s that there is so much more to the world and there are countries and cultures that are so different to England. We had learned about Diwali before writing the letters so when they found out Diwali is celebrated in Singapore and the children there had a day off from school, they had lots more to ask them about it. Most Year 2 children at my school had never heard of Singapore. A lot of them have never left England, especially with the Covid-19 restrictions and their family backgrounds, so I really wanted to just open their eyes to the world out there. When I showed them pictures of Singapore, they couldn’t believe there is a place that really looks like that.”

Paula and Acting Head of Year 2 Jess Freeborn were naturally delighted to collaborate with Charlotte, so the letter exchange initiative was kicked off without delay. Needless to say, the letter exchange was a huge success, and everyone enjoyed it immensely. Charlotte tells us more.

How did your students respond to the activity and the replies they received from Tanglin?

The children in my class could not believe they were writing to children on the other side of the world. It blew their minds that while we were writing our letters, the children we were writing to would be asleep in Singapore. I thought they would enjoy the activity, but they loved it even more than I thought they would. All the children in my class independently wrote more than I had ever seen them write. A child, who sometimes refuses to do literacy because he doesn’t normally enjoy writing, wrote over a page, and then said to me he had lots of questions for his friend in Singapore.

In the letters we received back from Tanglin, we learned so much more about Diwali we didn’t know before. Because it was personal, it made a real impact and they loved that the letter was for them.

Were there any memorable moments?

I had Parents Evening on the same day we wrote the letters and a parent of a child who really struggles and finds school challenging told me that the writing we did that day inspired their child. For the first time, he came home, sat at the table and asked for help to write a letter to Santa. The fact that we were writing to a real child their age on the other side of the world sparked their curiosity so much and inspired them to write, especially when there is a purpose for it.

Why do you think this is a good learning experience for students on both sides of the globe?

Year 2 children are still young and with Covid-19, it means that they haven’t been able to travel for the last few years. That connection with the other side of the world and talking to a child their age made a real impact. They were so engaged and asked me so many questions.

Tanglin’s Jess, who is also the class teacher of 2.7, couldn’t have agreed more. She said: “The letter exchange was an excellent opportunity for our children to experience receiving a handwritten letter from a pen pal in England. It meant we could teach letter writing in a real-life context and that brings learning alive for children. It was so special for our children to receive snippets of information about a child of the same age as them, but who lives so far away. They enjoyed sharing their knowledge on Diwali with others who were so keen to learn more about the festival.” ■

WHAT DO THE YEAR 2 CHILDREN THINK ABOUT THE ACTIVITY?

“It was super fun to write to children in the UK! - Anika, 2.7

It was exciting and fun because we wrote to children so far away! - Aadit, 2.7

I am really proud of my letter, that is more than I have ever written. - Charlotte’s student

“So they really live in a country where it is hot all year. - Charlotte’s student