By Mary Eyler
mail@floridanewsline.com
At Crown Point Elementary School, Jessica Radabaugh’s fifth graders, Angela Stephenson’s third graders, and Ginger Manning’s first graders took part in the Dialogue Journals Project sponsored by Rebecca Mott. The project is adopted from “The Young Writers,” an intergenerational program that was designed by Mott in Memphis, Tennessee during the early ‘90s.
The project was started at Crown Point last school year in mid-September. The classes wrote letters to members of the Mandarin Senior Center, where the students were paired with pen pals and sent letters back and forth on a weekly basis throughout the school year. In early June, three receptions were held to allow the pen pals from each class to meet with their friends at the Mandarin Senior Center.
The receptions were filled with many different, engaging stations. Some of these stations included getting matching temporary tattoos for both students and seniors, taking photos together, playing word searches, and a fishing game to “fish for good friends.” Another activity involved the students and their pen pals using post-it notes on a map of the world to share where they are from. Another station featured a spinning corner where students learned that friends are like spinners — they help you see things in a whole new way. All the pen pals had a wonderful time looking through their journals and singing songs such as, “I’m Gonna Catch You,” “Let it Go,” and “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.”
The Dialogue Journal project allowed Crown Point students to employ their language arts skills in writing letters and cultivate a sense of community in the process. Mott is hoping to expand the project into more community settings this fall. She welcomes help finding volunteers, participants, and sponsors. If your school or organization is interested, email Rebecca Mott at mott.rbh@gmail.com or call (904) 248-8595.
Photo courtesy Mary Eyler
Ginger Manning’s class with their friends from the Mandarin Senior Center.
