Something that I have always enjoyed doing with my students at the start of a brand new year, is have them write a letter to themselves in the future. On the first or second day of school, we sit down and write a letter to ourselves to be opened at the end of the school year (usually the last day or two). The groan and complain while writing it, but then always get so excited to receive their letter at the end of the year...my seniors this past year were in awe and so excited!! They write about their goals for the year, where they want to be in five or so years, what the future looks like, etc. I leave the requirements very open as it is their letter and no one will read it but them.
Now...with all of that being said, we write our letters old school and then I hang on to them for the year. Well sometimes...okay most of the time...I myself will forget about them. This leaves all of the responsibility on me to remember and ensure they get their letters back.
With FutureMe students can generate their letters digitally and decide when they will want to receive their letters. This tool allows you to generate a letter to yourself and have it emailed to you at a specific date! I am so glad that this tool was posted this week because I had never heard of it before but am so excited that I found a tool that I can implement into my classroom. This brings in the social media / technology element that I know my students will be more inclined to engage in than writing on a piece of paper!
Hi Frankie - I've done this kind of activity before as a learner and it is really impactful to see how far you come over the year. I liked that I forgot about them because it was a genuine surprise to see it again. The tech element definitely helps take the burden off you remembering and also is a great way to ensure safe keeping. I wonder if there's a way to combine the physical nature of receiving a letter and the digital nature of writing it and sending it. Maybe you can do a mini time capsule that lives alongside the digital letters? Could be fun to open at the end of the year!
ReplyDeleteHi Megan - That is a great idea! I have never thought of using a time capsule to track the letters, but it seems so much easier than me trying to keep track of them myself!
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