1. What you need to know

2. Before You Get Started You Should: BE SAFE: *Never give out your home address, your telephone number, or any other personal information. If you feel like you shouldn’t tell certain information about yourself to your pen pal, then you shouldn’t. Always be cautious!

3. Get the Best Experience Possible! Tips and Tricks to have fun with your pen pal! Do: Remember that you can teach your pen pal all about you and what your life and culture is like! Be open-minded! Your pen pal will teach you a lot too about their life and their culture! Use respectful language. Speak about appropriate topics.

4. Need Ideas About What to Write? Here is an example of a letter you could write to your pen pal! : Dear Pen Pal, I am so excited about getting to write to you! I thought I would tell you a little about myself to start. My name is _______ and I am from Kentucky in the United States. Everyday I wake up when my alarm goes off at 6 a.m. Then I shower and get ready for school. For breakfast I eat a granola bar while I’m walking to my first class of the day. I go to school all day until around 3 p.m. Then I walk home. When I get home I do my chores and my homework and help my older brother to make dinner. I love to cook. What is your day like? What time do you go to school? Do you study a lot? Do you have chores? What kinds of things do you like to do? Sincerely, _________

5. What Can You Learn from Your Letters? You will learn a lot just by emailing your pen pal back and forth! Here are a few things you may learn: What life is like for other 6 th graders around the world! Think about the sample letter I showed you. What your pen pal does every day could be very different than what you or I do everyday. Or your pen pal could do a lot of the same things that you do everyday, maybe in a different order or at a different place. Your pen pal could be homeschooled, or go to a private school. They may have to walk 3 miles to school instead of three blocks. They may not have running water, or they may be in a drought and not be able to take a shower in the morning.