The Great American Mail Race
Who: You and any other students in the 50 states!
What: The Great American Mail Race is a letter-writing challenge that connects students from all around the United States.
Where: You will be randomly assigned a state. It is up to you to find a school to write to within that state. It’s completely your choice!
Why: The goal of The Great American Mail Race is to share information and stories about yourself, your school, and your community with others.
Directions:
Handwrite two letters to two different 8th grades in your assigned state. Some of what you write in these letters will be similar, but each letter must be specific to the location where it is being sent. Each letter will be five paragraphs in length. The purpose of these letters is to share information about yourself and where you live, as well as encourage the reader to write back to you.
| Paragraph 1: | Explain The Great American Mail Race and why you are writing. What is the goal of this project? |
| Paragraph 2: | Tell about yourself. Feel free to include hobbies, likes/dislikes, or interesting and unusual facts. Do not share personal details like phone/email/Myspace information. |
| Paragraph 3: | Tell about your school and community. You can include information about where you live and interesting locations in our area. You should also share information about our school, such as size, values, student fashions, etc. |
| Paragraph 4: | Ask your reader a few questions about themselves. These should be relevant, thoughtful questions about themselves, their school, and where they live. |
| Paragraph 5: | Conclude your letter by thanking the reader for participating in The Great American Mail Race. Encourage the reader to reply to your letter. |
