Mailing May

Mailing May

Section 1:  Content

Nowadays it's no big deal for a girl to travel seventy-five miles. But when Charlotte May Pierstorff wanted to cross the Idaho mountains to see her grandma in 1914, the railroad was the only way to get there, and a train ticket would have cost her parents a full day's pay.

Here is the true story of how May got to visit her grandma, thanks to her own spunk, her father's clever plan, and the U.S. mail.  (description copied from Amazon website).

I would like to share this story even though it is based on a different area of the country.  The Alleghany Portage Railroad that we visited reminded me about this idea, especially with the discussion about the fees and distance traveled.

Section 2:  Creative Activities

Prereading:  I have a mailing label displayed on the chalkboard (the kind you tie to a package—manila with a hole and strings), and some stamps.  I ask students first about the label: have they ever seen one, what is the purpose, etc.  (DOK 1) Then, I put that aside and ask about the page of “stamps.”  I copied some cute stamp patterns from the internet, and put them onto a sheet of paper.  I ask students about the purpose of these stamps.  I then ask them if they have ever received or sent a letter.  Next question:  what else can be sent through the mail? (DOK 2)  Can you send a person? (DOK 3) Then we read the story aloud.  When we are finished, we look at the label and stamps again.  Before we move to our table areas, we talk about how many stamps we are putting on the label, and where we want to go.  The students have to select two stamps, cut and paste them onto the same side of the label, and then write where they want to visit on the back.  (When I do this in class, I usually write for them; I do this activity with first graders.)  (DOK 4) After they are finished, we tape the label to the student’s shirt (usually the back; read the book to discern why), and then they can select a library book.  If you wanted to incorporate math, you could ask the students to select the stamps that add up to a certain figure (say 30 cents) for the mailing.

Section 3:  Standards

1.2.1.D

1.2.1.E

1.6.1.A

Section 4:  Depth of Knowledge Questions

DOK1:  tell, name

DOK2:  predict

DOK3:  construct

DOK4:  create, design

Section 5:  Danielson Domain Framework

Domain 1b, 1e, 2b, 2c, 2e, 3a, 3b, 3c

Further Reading/Resource Sites

Tunnell, Michael O.  Mailing May.  New York:  Greenwillow, 1997.  Print.