Students begin writing their autobiographies in letter format to their pen pal.
Pen pals respond. At the end of the first semester, students travel to the nursing home to meet their pen pal and swap a small gift for the holidays. Pictures are taken for bulletin boards in your school. Writings continue through the spring and students bond better with the person who now has a face to go with the letters. I have students who still want to write to Grandma even though it's been 2 or more years.