Children's Literature

Read chapter 2, "Creating Excellent E-Mail: The "E" Doesn't Stand for "Easy Way Out!", pages 25-40, in Extraordinary E-Mails, Letters, and Resumes, by Mark Tyler Nobleman. Have students select and write one of the e-mails in "Project Jump Start" on page 38. (Specific instructions are given for e-mailing a company, a celebrity, or friends.)

Social Studies

The first mail in this country often arrived at its destination by Pony Express. Compare and contrast the time, effort, and cost it took for one letter to reach someone in California back in 1861 and what it takes now using e-mail.

Technology

The Electronic Newsletter

Newsletters are among the oldest forms of communication. The arrival of the Internet has allowed newspapers to deliver their content in electronic format as well as in paper format. A lot of people find the electronic format to be an easy solution to getting current information. This project will give students the opportunity to create a class newsletter that they can send to parents, guardians, and relatives

The newsletter is a team project. However, each student should write one special interest article for inclusion in the newsletter. Students are responsible for content, appropriateness of the content, and newspaper quality.

Have students design a logo for their newsletter and a format for the document: two or three columns. If pictures are added, use a good photo-editing program -- a simple cropping system is also found in Word. Once the format has been determined, have the students add their articles to the newsletter. Proofread the document carefully and save. Ask the students to provide e-mail addresses of family and friends who might be willing to be your readership. Once the newsletter is completed, attach it to an e-mail describing the project and content of the newsletter.