See How These Fourth Graders Travel to All 50 States

Author Kate WhitePosted by Kate White
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The Postcard Exchange.

Students in Marissa Engelhard's fourth grade classroom travel to all 50 states throughout the school year. How? The Lake Ozarks, Missouri, teacher organizes a unique learning exercise among elementary school classrooms across the U.S. called The Postcard Exchange.

Engelhard uses SignUpGenius to recruit teachers from each state to send postcards to each other. During the year, schools will send 49 post cards and get 49 in return. The collection is used to assemble a United States of Friendship Map/Bulletin Board. There are 50 opportunities for each 50 states, multiplying the impact. "[The Postcard Exchange] provides an opportunity to connect 2,500 educators in authentic learning," Engelhard says. It also gives the children a chance to learn about parts of the country they've never seen.

SignUpGenius allows the group to fulfill its mission by letting participants share information quickly and safely. "As the coordinator, SignUpGenius helps me keep this information organized and secure. I can share the SignUpGenius groups easily to find other teachers and download the complete groups to send to the educators. I love the simplicity of the site that allows me to create new groups quickly," Engelhard says.

We are thrilled to be able to support this genius idea. How is your school using SignUpGenius in the classroom? We'd love to hear from you!

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Nothing compares to SignUpGenius! I ran a gift-wrapping booth for our high school drama department for one month, and this site saved me hours and hours of time. Previously, it had been coordinated by email and Excel and took forever. SignUpGenius was convenient, efficient and easy to manuever. What a lifesaver! I have recommended it to others, and they have nothing but praise also. Thanks so much.

Lynn Behan