Art Pen Pal: Exchanging Art Letters With My International Friend

49 The exchange of pen-pal letters has been widespread for generations (Barksdale et al., 2007). Studies show that pen-pal relationships provide opportunities to improve literacy skills (reading and writing), develop an understanding of other people, and create cross-cultural connections (Barksdale et al., 2007; McCaffrery, 2012; Wilfong & Oberhauser, 2012). Specifically, children develop ways to communicate effectively with a pen pal through letter writing, which generally involves participants constructing meaning solely from written text (Barksdale et al., 2007). Also, pen-pal relationships help establish friends of equal status and help children become aware of the world around them (Wilfong & Oberhauser, 2012). Moreover, communication between pen pals stimulates children to learn more about new cultures and topics (Barksdale et al., 2007). Accordingly, scholars have examined pen-pal projects across curricula, including literacy development (Barksdale et al., 2007), science (McCaffrey, 2012; Wiener & Matsumoto, 2014), math (Crespo, 2003), and cross-curricular learning (Lemkuhl, 2002), as well as in teacher education programs involving communication between teachers and children (McMillon, 2009; Moore & Ritter, 2008; Wilfong & Oberhauser, 2012).