See How These Fourth Graders Travel to All 50 States

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!

Posted by Kate White