At Melcher-Dallas High School, 8th and 9th grade ELA students put their letter-writing skills to work—and sent encouragement to Marine recruits going through boot camp in San Diego.
The students wrote to Mrs. Wyles’ son, Jacob, and his fellow recruits as they progressed through boot camp and the Crucible. They learned that some recruits received little or no mail from loved ones at home, so they also prepared letters Jacob could hand out to those recruits.
The letters offered motivational wishes and asked about the recruits’ journeys, their decisions to join the Marines, and their favorite MRE. Some of the new Marines wrote back, giving students a chance to hear from the people they had encouraged. Jacob also visited the school after returning home from boot camp.
Mrs. Wyles is teaching in place of Mrs. Davis while she is deployed with the Army National Guard. After practicing their letter-writing skills through the project, the students composed letters to send to Mrs. Davis, too.
