Dear Jonah: A Year of Pen Pal Writing

From Mira's Pen Pal Folder

1In September, Mr. Osei's fourth graders were matched with pen pals at a school in a small mountain town. The two classes would mail letters back and forth once a month for the whole school year. Mira Santos was matched with a boy named Jonah. Mr. Osei gave each student a folder for saving their own writing and every letter they got. Here are four pieces from Mira's folder, along with notes she added in June.

2September letter (about 20 minutes)
Dear Jonah,
My name is Mira. I am nine years old, and I am in the soap carving club at my school. What do you like to do?
Your pen pal,
Mira
Mira's note: My first letter was short because I did not know anything about Jonah yet.

3Winter break postcard (about 5 minutes)
Hi Jonah! I am at my aunt's apartment for winter break. She taught me to make paper snowflakes, and I made nine of them. Write soon! Mira
Mira's note: A postcard has only a little space, so I picked one fun thing to tell.

4February letter (two days)
Dear Jonah,
Thank you for your letter. You asked what my favorite subject is. It is science, because we get to do experiments. You also asked how I carve soap. First, I draw a shape on the bar with a toothpick. Then I scrape away the extra soap with a craft stick, a little at a time. Now I have a question for you. How did you learn to play the accordion?
Your friend,
Mira
Mira's note: I wrote a draft on Monday and fixed my spelling on Tuesday. I answered Jonah's questions first, so he would know I had read his letter carefully.

5Two Schools book page (two weeks in May)
At the end of the year, both classes made a book called Two Schools, One Year. A copy went home to every family in both classes. Each student wrote one page comparing their own school with their pen pal's school. Mira looked back through Jonah's letters in her folder to find facts about his school. She wrote a draft and read it to her partner, Theo. Theo said that families might not know what a soap carving club was, so Mira added a sentence to explain it. She made her final copy in the second week.
Mira's note: This page took the longest, but it was easier because I had saved every letter.