Sharing gratitude with letters to veterans
Marquette alumna’s class combines academics with thankfulness
By Elizabeth Jorgensen, Ed ‘05
Every week, my principal emails Arrowhead staff members a “Week In Review” where he highlights the week’s notables. Last week, he recommended “Encouraging a Sense of Gratitude in Students” from Edutopia.
In it, Marissa E King suggested students write letters: “Letter writing is an academic skill — requiring students to focus on a specific purpose and an authentic audience — but it’s also a perfect opportunity to get students thinking about who and what they should be thankful for.”
King’s recommendation aligned with my creative writing project: a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel collaboration with the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight.
This project asks readers to “write and show your appreciation to a Wisconsin veteran… All letters will be delivered to Stars and Stripes and will be distributed on future Honor Flights. For every letter received, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel will make a $10 donation to the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight, up to $35,000.” In addition, the MJS publishes one letter per week.
To introduce the unit, I showed my students the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight movie. Students then read previously published Arrowhead student letters and analyzed them for quality and content. My students read Lauren’s letter, Maddie’s letter and Josh’s letter.
One of my colleagues asked a family member and veteran to create a video message. Students watched his short video and then a Ted Talk about how to talk to veterans. After each, students and I discussed what we noticed and learned.
In our discussions, students referenced a social studies teacher who collects donations for the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight, our school’s Rho Kappa Club that hosts a Veteran’s breakfast and the Arrowhead SAVE Team (Survivor and Veteran Experience) that “conducts and records interviews with WWII and Holocaust survivors and saves their stories for posterity.” And then, students wrote.
They addressed letters to either a WWII, Korean War or Vietnam War veteran. Varying in length from 300 to 500 words, students reflected on their freedom, patriotism, gratitude and American opportunities.
My school posted about this project on their social media pages.
When the project was complete, I sent the letters to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and asked my students what they thought. Here’s what they said:
“I have never thanked a veteran before, but I’ve always wanted to. I liked how personal this project gets. It was nice to be able to thank a veteran because it truly means something to them and if I could make a part of their day just a little bit better even, it’s all worth it.”
“I enjoyed this project because I think we often take what the veterans have gone through and done for us for granted. So I liked that we took time out of our day and had everyone thank them for their service.”
“I liked the planning portion of the project so we got some ideas on what to include in our letter. I appreciate writing a letter to a veteran because I admire their bravery and sacrifices. It means a lot to them to get letters, even from people they don’t know.”
“I like that this project is something where we are recognizing and giving back to something outside of our sheltered worlds. I think this project is very meaningful and important. It gave me a chance to tell a veteran something other than ‘thank you for your service.’ It gave me a chance to direct my gratitude toward someone that truly deserves it.”
Elizabeth Jorgensen graduated from Marquette University College of Education in 2005 with Journalism and Education degrees. Named the 2015 Arrowhead Teacher of the Year, Jorgensen’s teaching was featured by the Sejong Cultural Society, in collaboration with the Korea Institute at Harvard University, as an exemplar model for teaching poetry. Hundreds of Jorgensen’s students have been published. Currently, Jorgensen advises the AHS school newspaper and literary magazine.
Originally published at marquetteeducator.wordpress.com on March 22, 2018.
