Postcard project has Pinewood students ‘Read Across America’

WARREN — ”Howdy” from Texas, and “greetings” from the Empire State Building in New York City!

Those one-word phrases were among the many messages Pinewood Elementary School students received on postcards last month during March is Reading Month.

Pam Ansell, a second/third grade teacher in the Severely Language Impaired program, coordinated a project called “Read Across America” in recognition of March is Reading Month. Pinewood is part of the Warren Woods Public Schools district.

Students and staff reached out to family and friends across the U.S. in an effort to collect postcards from all 50 states during March. At press time, the school received about 176 postcards from 45 states, plus cards from Canada, Germany and Japan.

On March 1, Ansell, staff and families posted messages about the project on ClassDojo, in student newsletters, and on Facebook and Twitter. Their social media messages were sent to family members and friends to let them know about the Reading Month activity.

A postcard is a thin card with a picture on one side; on the other side is a blank space on which to write a message to someone and mail it. Ansell and third grade teacher Courtney Joondeph displayed a map of the U.S. on a hallway wall to hang each postcard received.

“It’s a fun, little project to show how far written words can travel and how it impacts reading, math and geography. It’s created a lot of dialogue,” Ansell said. “Some cards have been handwritten and some have been typed. Some people who couldn’t find postcards sent pictures.”

Some postcards came from mutual friends and family members the students and staff don’t even know. Ansell herself received a postcard that arrived all the way from Oregon from her hairdresser’s sister, whom she has never met.

Some postcards were addressed to the student body in general while others were mailed to a specific staff member or student. Some former Pinewood students sent postcards stating their enthusiasm for the project.

Many postcards featured photos highlighting certain characteristics or landmarks of the state: the Liberty Bell in Pennsylvania, the Arizona desert, a calm lake in Maine. The students also heard from Olathe, Kansas; Purdue, Indiana; Scotch Plains, New Jersey; St. Louis, Missouri; and Portland, Oregon. Ansell kept a tally of how many postcards per state. At press time, sunny Florida was in the lead with the most cards at 25.

Susan Smith, who teaches in the SLI program, received a lot of cards, including one from her son’s girlfriend.

“Even as people are traveling, they send cards,” Smith said. “The kids love it. Every time the kids walk by they count and talk about the states the cards came from. Any opportunity we can get to enhance their love of reading is fantastic.”

Brothers Joey and Maxwell Hill were among the students who received the most cards, including one from a former coworker of their mom, Stephanie Hill.

“We have a ton. It’s very good,” said Maxwell, a second grader. “My favorite state is Ohio. We traveled to Ohio to Kalahari (Resorts & Conventions).”

For Joey, who is in the third grade, Michigan is his favorite state.

“Because we’re here,” he said, adding “I loved Kalahari. We stayed there two full days.”

Third grader Abbygail Chapoton also received a lot of mail addressed to her, including communication from her grandpa’s brother. Another postcard came from Fairfield, Connecticut, from “a longtime friend of her grandparents.” Chapoton’s favorite postcard — a photo of three cousins around her age she has never met — was sent from Massapequa, New York.

During the process, a ham radio operator in Massachusetts reached out to some fellow ham radio operators on the East Coast, got ham contact cards from them, and sent them with a letter to the school.