Handwritten letters are no longer common due to modern communication tools. Many children only receive them from their grandparents but have never written a letter themselves.
Constance Straub, Primary Teacher for German, considers this skill to be of elementary importance because writing by hand activates the brain regions for thinking, language, memory, and fine motor skills. In addition, letter writing teaches the rules of text structure and how to form sentences correctly.
Working with the picture book “Letters from Felix – a little rabbit on a trip around the world” Grade 3 students have been practicing in a playful way how to write to their family and friends. At the same time, they’ve learned a lot about the different countries Felix travels to: England, France, Italy, Egypt, and many more. The activity helps the students pay attention to detail, as they write down their observations in narrative form.
In the end, they put their letter in an envelope and address it correctly, another important part of the process and their learning.
