I wish I could say this idea was mine, but it isn't. This idea was given to me by a former colleague, who used to do the project with her students.
So what is it?
I have my students write a letter to the next group of second graders. I have my students write about what they learned this year, projects we did, field trips we had, etc. They also get to tell their favorite lesson from the year (insects and mobiles were favorites) and give a bit of advice to the reader ("Don't lose your pencils!" and "Always listen.").
After the students write their letters, I file them away for the first day of school. When the first day comes, I place them on the desks in a random order and use them as an icebreaker/introduction as to what we will be doing over the course of the year. In the case that I have more students than letters (which I think will happen this coming year with classes being cut and all), I will have the students share with a partner and keep the extras to read aloud.
An alternative I have heard is to have the students write persuasion letters to their teachers at the end of the year. My daughter did this as a project in fourth grade. Her teacher had the class write to her and explain why they thought they deserved to go on to the next grade/why they would make good fifth graders. They had to include things like study habits and attitude. Very eye-opening, I'm sure. She also had them write letters to the fifth grade teachers to introduce themselves. I haven't tried either with my second graders, but judging by the enthusiasm in which they wrote their letters, I think they would enjoy the task.
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