Welcome to PenPal Schools
PenPal Schools is a website that allows classrooms and students around the world to work together on collaborative projects that connect to every school subject. PenPal Schools has connected over 250,000 students in 150 countries. PenPal projects link classes with like-age peers across the globe.
Source: https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/penpal-schools
Source: https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/penpal-schools
A Quick Overview of PenPal Schools
A Detailed Demo for PenPal Schools (teachers and parents)
How to Enroll
- Click here (penpalschools.com) and select the option to Join as a Student.
- Select the Sign Up option for New to PenPal Schools users (unless you already have a PenPal Schools account).
- You will be prompted to create a username and password. Please select an appropriate username (that does not include your s#) and a password that you can remember. (Write your username and password in your composition notebook.)
- Complete your user profile (first name, last name initial, the year you were born, and your school email address). Suggestion: Although your s# email address can be used to receive emails, you should use the version of your school email address that includes your name ([email protected]). If you need help finding this version of your email address, please see your teacher.
- If you want to, add a profile picture to your avatar.
- Select the option to Join with a Teacher.
- Enter the Classroom Code ca52816 and check the "I'm not a robot" box.
- You should be greeted with a Welcome to your current unit. Click continue.
- Read slides 2/3 and 3/3. Click Start My Project.
- You will be prompted to select one of the five project options. Suggestion: Click on each project and read about the objectives and goals before selecting one. When you find a project that you like, click on the Create This Project button.
- Three buttons on the left hand side will appear (Learn With PenPals, Explore PenPals Projects, and Publish Your Project!). Select the button to Learn With PenPals. (An orange glow should be blinking around the box.)
- All of your unit's learning modules should appear. Select Meet PenPals! to begin your unit. Follow the instructions in the learning module.
Let's get started . . .
Welcome to Walking to Freedom! In this unit, you will learn about civil rights leaders from around the world. You will create a project about what you learn. Afterwards, you will publish and share your project with your teacher, classmates, friends, family, and PenPals! To get started, begin the learning module: Meet PenPals! Here, you will discover how people and groups from around the world promote tolerance and racial equality.
Learning Modules
More than likely, you will be completing the learning modules for your unit plan in this particular order:
- Meet PenPals!
- Diversity and Discrimination
- Discrimination Long Ago
- Mahatma Ghandi
- The Fight for Civil Rights
- Helen Joseph and Rosa Parks
- Walking to Freedom
- Reflection
Parents can join the learning experience as well . . .
After your child has joined PenPal Schools, parents can be invited to follow along as their children learn with peers from around the world. If you are interested, please email your mobile phone number to your child's teacher (Reygan_J_Reed). You can also use the Contact Form below to send Mr. Reed an email . Afterwards, you will need to download the mobile app at www.penpalschools.com/parents and enter your child's PenPal Pin. (You must have a smartphone or tablet that can download apps.) This will allow you to see the work that your child shares with PenPals in over 150 countries. (Note: Parents will receive their child's PenPal Pin after by providing the instructor with their mobile number.)