RM Winter 2017 FINAL

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Reading Matters
Research Matters
| 34| Reading Matters | Volume 16 • Winter 2016 |
it with your hand. You could type it.” Another shared, “I think it
was easier for [my pen pal] to read my writing, and it was better
for me because I didn’t get ink on my hands or blisters.” Several
students also mentioned how the technology would help them
as they wrote. A student shared, “It was so awesome because the
drop down box would help me make sure I spelled things right.”
Creating responses. The third graders provided insight into
how they created their responses. They reported using look
backs in the text, thinking about themselves, looking at their
pen pal’s questions, asking their own questions, sharing their
opinions, telling things that happened in the story, and guessing
what would happen next. See Figure 6 for samples of third grade
student entries. At the beginning of the project, many of the
responses relied on summarization of the story. One student
shared, “I just don’t write exactly what’s there [in the story]. I use
my own words. I write about what’s happening but not exactly.”
Quite a few students noted how it was difficult to write at first
but got easier when “we could keep going back and forth.” In fact,
student responses increased in length as the project progressed.
One student shared, “At first I didn’t want to write at all. But then
I thought if I write something short, she’ll write something short
back. So I decided to write long so she would write long.”
Figure 6. Sample student responses.
Many students felt supported in their writing when their pen
pal would ask them questions about the story and when there
were opportunities to have personal interactions. One student
commented, “Sometimes [my pen pal] would write questions
for me. It was easier for me to write and think about things to
say when this happened.” Another shared, “I could add stories
about myself and that stuff is really easy to write about.”
These young writers also seemed to feel less pressure when
they were allowed to select the type of responses they wanted
to make. For example, some shared pictures as part of their
responses. One student commented, “It was actually fun to write…
[but sometimes] you can draw pictures and it might be fun to
share that [pictures from the story].” Another student shared, “You
can tell things in pictures too. Not just in writing.”Third graders
felt a sense of autonomy during this project because they had
the freedom to write about what they were interested in writing,
use illustrations to communicate with their pen pals, and make
personal connections with their pen pals and with the novel.
Benefits of participating in the project. Again, the third
graders reported high levels of enjoyment throughout the
project. All of the third graders reported that they would want to
work with pen pals again and thought that other third graders
should have the experience as well. This project supported South
Carolina literacy standards, stimulated communication, and
engaged students of different ages socially and academically.
Preservice Teachers
We (Ms. Brandon and Ms. Nash) were each responsible for
corresponding with a third grade student, analyzing his or
her writing, and creating an entry responding to the student’s
entry. We identified whether the student made textual connections
and chose one of the six traits of writing to analyze the student’s
relative strengths or needs with regards to the writing sample. Our
students’ writing continually informed the way that we responded
each week. The reflection on our experiences is provided below.
Working with pen pals. We enjoyed working with
elementary students because it allowed us to understand a
child’s perspective. The students’ reactions and responses to
the events in the book made us aware of a third grader’s point
of view while reading the novel. For example, we learned
that, in general, students enjoyed the humorous scenes in
the book and enjoyed mysterious characters. In addition, this
study gave us the opportunity to interact with the students
in an informal setting, which is not typically granted in the
field experiences we have through our coursework.
Using technology. At the beginning of the study, we
exchanged introductory videos with the third graders. This
visual introduction made the connection with the students more
personal, as we “met” our pen pals before corresponding. It set the
tone for positive interaction throughout the project, and allowed
us to feel as if we were developing relationships with the students.
In addition, using OneNote was an advantage. This online
platform made responding a fast task. The flexibility to use the
technology to respond whenever we wanted was a benefit
because it never conflicted with coursework or with our work
schedules. We also felt that the use of technology developed a
risk-free, informal atmosphere for pen pals who had low self-
efficacy as writers. Overall, the technology enhanced this project.
Creating responses. Participating in this book study project
gave us experience in supporting students’ development
in literacy. We learned (or were reminded) that everyone
brings a little something different to a book. It’s interesting
how people can read the same book but draw different
Pen pal book studyfigures 9
Figure 6.