For well over a decade, I’ve had students write letters – to their future selves- at the end of the school year in May. A colleague shared this idea with me, and I know many of you do the same with your students.
It’s such a meaningful way for students to reflect on their year, on their growth as thinkers and creators, on who they are at this point in their lives, and who they hope to become. Students are motivated to write when they consider what it will feel like to receive them in the future as they reach the next milestone. I kept my 5th graders’ letters for three years and mailed them at the end of their 8th-grade year. The letters in this picture were written by eighth-grade students who will be receiving theirs as they graduate high school.
GUIDING STUDENTS IN WRITING THEIR LETTERS
How you approach this depends so much on your students and the grade level. From year to year, I’ve introduced it in different ways and given students different guidelines for their letters. Sometimes students had experienced trauma or tragedy during the year. If you have such a case, you might talk to that student in advance (depending on the grade level) or assign the letter-writing activity as an optional one on a menu of activities.
You can find many great ideas and examples with a quick search, and there are several free TPT products that may suit your purposes. You might even consider having students create e-mail letters using a digital platform such as Memories net or Future Me.
Here are a few tips I can share:
- Review the parts of a letter and how to address an envelope. I found many of my students did not know or remember the format for writing a letter and weren’t sure how to address an envelope. It only took a minute to review and demonstrate. They’ll also need a tutorial on how to fold a letter!
- Provide special paper and #10 white envelopes. I purchased neon-colored notebook paper. The longer envelope works well; some students may want to slip in photos, stickers, etc. It could be fun to also prepare a photo collage printout of memories from the year and provide each student a copy to include.
- Have a slide such as the one below to display as students write. My slide includes a sample first paragraph because getting started is always the hardest part! HERE is the link to make your own editable copy.
- Bundle up the sealed envelopes with a rubber band and add a sticky note with the date you will mail them. Put them in a safe place. I take them home and keep mine in a drawer in my bedroom armoire! My husband knows where they are. My hope is that they’ll be mailed even if something happens to me!
Some of my students wrote pages and pages and brought me FAT envelopes secured with extra tape! Others wrote very little. I didn’t open or read any letters unless the student insisted (some wanted to share theirs).
As I write this, I’m preparing to mail another batch. Here’s what I will do:
- Prepare personalized notes to include with each letter. I have a typed template and I change it slightly to say something personal to the student such as what I remember most about them or about the year.
- Slip their sealed envelope along with the note from me into a larger #12 envelope and copy the name and address from their envelope onto the larger one. The last time I checked, no extra postage was required..
Alternative Idea: If you have dozens of letters to send, this can be overwhelming. Last year, I created a single note addressed to all students, and shared it on a web page (see it here). I now mail out original letters with a return address label that includes the link (see photo below- NOTE: At this time, I taught at a private school, so the message is faith-based)
As I send these off, I will say a prayer that the letters are happily received and the students are all doing well!
I hope this is helpful to some who might like to do this for the first time. For those who already do this, we’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below.
You can find more end-of-year reflection ideas on the Holiday/ Seasonal page.
Happy Summer to all my friends who are wrapping up their school year in the U.S.!
This is amazing! Thank you so much for the idea! After this school year, I know my students have a lot to reflect on. I am looking forward to doing this now and years to come!
Brittany, after the year we’ve had, I almost didn’t write this! I wasn’t sure if anyone would want to do it. But I’ve learned not to assume what others want or need, so your comment is seriously appreciated! It is a truly meaningful activity and my students often contact me when they receive their letters which is another huge bonus!
My 5th grade teacher did this and I got my letter when I was a senior in high school (20+ years ago!) I loved it!
That so awesome, Cathy! I think that’s why it is meaningful for both students and teachers! Thanks for your comment!
I love this idea! The letters will give everyone time to reflect on the past school year, and also allow them to look back on the memories they created with each other.
Yes, and they do sometimes reach out when they receive them years later. It’s a wonderful thing to do with students.
For the past 5 years I have written a letter to my kids asking them questions and talking about letter writing. Then send an envelope with a stamp to them to send a letter back to me or to someone else.
This ended up as some students writing a full year to me with me getting a letter every other week and others referring it as their favorite lesson. Many have never received a letter from someone ever before.
I absolutely LOVE this version and maybe I will try it with my kids. Thanks for sharing!!
What a wonderful way to connect with students and engage in mutual learning (you- about them and them about writing and receiving letters)! I love this, Barbara. Thank you for sharing it!