Learn The Great Basin

Brian Crosby

Nevada Postcard Project

Time for Project: 45 minutes to 2 hours.

Description of Project: Working individually or in groups, students research places and cities of scientific, historic and of general interest in Nevada and then design and create postcards about them.

Objectives: Students will demonstrate knowledge of places and cities of Nevada and/or their scientific and historic significance. Students will use researching skills. Students will use and practice creative writing and editing skills, drawing skills and other graphic arts skills. Students will learn and practice letter writing and addressing skills.

Materials: Maps of Nevada, paper cut to "postcard" size, travel brochures about Nevada (including Internet sites), drawing media, books about Nevada, encyclopedia, guest speaker(s) (optional).

Procedures: Bring in a few postcards and share them with students, going over the various parts of a postcard (picture on front, blurb on back, where the letter goes, address, stamp, etc.). Also you could read STRINGBEANS TRIP TO THE SHINING SEA, by Vera and Jennifer Williams. The story is told by two brothers through the postcards they send home each day of a trip they take.

As a class make a postcard of your school or city, decide what the picture on the front should be and what the blurb on the back could say. Also show where the "letter" and address go.

Brainstorm with students, places and cities of Nevada that have scientific, historic and general interest. Make as extensive a list as possible on chart paper or the board. Take the time to talk about the places students and you contribute so that the class has a general idea about the significance of each place.

Have the students each pick several places they think they would like to make a postcard about. Then they should research about the places so that they have information for the blurb, the picture they will draw, and the letter they will write about the fictional (or, if they have been there, the real) experience they had there. Then they choose one to make a postcard about. Students should include as many facts about the location as possible, but they can also include made up activities or experiences they had on their fictional trip.

Pass out two sheets of "postcard" size paper to each student, two pieces because the picture goes on one piece and the blurb, letter, address and stamp (they can design a stamp for their postcard) go on the other so that you can see both sides of their card when you display them in the classroom.

Students then make their postcard. You should have them rough draft their letter about their experience at the postcard location, and their blurb before writing them on the postcard. They then address it to you at the schools address and, if they have time, design a stamp to glue on (I've even had students that put cancellation marks on the stamp like the post office does). If you have the time or want to make the first try a rough draft (this usually results in a much better quality product) you might have the students do the assignment over again on card stock (possibly as homework).

Then students share their postcards with the class and they can be displayed in the classroom.

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