Penpal Schools is an online service that gives students an opportunity to be matched internationally with other students where they can have an engaging conversation, ask meaningful questions, and learn with others. This platform is robust and provides teachable information for various themed topics thereby helping build background knowledge for students to discuss with their pen pals through a forum format. It’s also recommended by CommonSense Media and takes student privacy seriously, moderation of appropriate content and conversations, and includes assessment opportunities.
Teachers can sign up and then select two topics to try for free with their class. Penpal Schools provides multiple topics like, “Fake News,” The Human Body, VR Field Trips, and various culture exploration topics.
Learning information about global concerns and discussing them with other students facing similar or extreme issues is an authentic connection. It builds empathy, understanding, and students have a safe place to ask questions to learn about life across the globe, often realizing that it isn’t always that different. Penpals Schools also backchecks every teacher who signs up to ensure that everyone registered is a real teacher and all data is secured and encrypted.
- Sign up online and create a teacher account.
- Wait till you’re approved!
- Get permission for your students – each school district has their own release forms. Penpal Schools provides a letter for parents.
- Browse the topics and preview the mini-lessons inside.
- Each mini-lesson includes resources to teach the lesson in your class: videos, vocabulary, guiding questions, pertinent information, and a place for students to respond online (which includes models of answers for students to reflect on).
- Select the topic you, or even better, your class decides to pursue.
- Enroll your students using your unique classroom code!
- Choose what level your students would be most successful with.
- Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced.
- Change the level for individual students – UDL!
- Teach to the topical lessons! Your students can:
- Watch the video.
- Read the information.
- Respond to a discussion question which is published to a global student forum
- Note** You can choose to not follow the above format and create more engaging lessons using the provided material and information.
- Select how students will demonstrate their learning through a final project.
- Publish the project to the Global Showcase.
How PenPal Schools Works from PenPal Schools on Vimeo.
PenPal Schools: Learn Together from PenPal Schools on Vimeo.