Mrs. McGowan's First Grade           Spring Lake, NJ

Pippi Longstocking
Collaborative Internet Project
Spring 2003

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Hello Rachel,
I saw your project with Marci and Mary on the internet and want to commend you for the work you are doing with prospective teachers! Your project page and the work you have done with Mary and Marci is remarkable!
I work in the same district as Mary (she was my tech mentor), and I have joined several of Marci's projects! Keep up the great work.  I have received so many student teachers who have NO CLUE HOW TO CONDUCT TELLACOLLABORATIVE learning experiences ...  Keep me in mind if you are ever looking for additional partners for you classes to collaborate with.
Mary and Marci are "THE BEST OUT THERE", but I would  love to give it a shot if you ever need more!  Congratulations  on such a well done project and THANK  YOU  for giving teachers the training they need!

Michele Nash
Cumberland Elementary School,  Whitefish Bay, WI

5/3/03  
WOW! Impressive as always!
Keep up the fabulous work.
Terri Stalheber, Grade 3, Corona, CA

5/2/03
Marci, what a great project!
We are on chapter 5 of Pippi Longstocking right now. I got some really good ideas from your site. What fun!!!!  Thanks once again,
Pam Elliott, Grade 2, Windsor, ME

5/1/03 
Re: Pippi Longstocking: A Collaborative Literacy Project
Oh, Marci, it's simply spectacular!!!! You do truly incredible work! What a terrific idea! How did you get involved?  Simply super duper!
Lanise Jacoby, Grade 2,  Arlington, MA
Please take a peek into the Window to Our World

Comments from Mrs. McGowan's class:

April 30, 2003:  We gathered around the computer and visited Ms. Kreul's 4th Grade project page.  Our class was very eager to see what the "big kids" had written about Pippi.  We shared the reading of each of the entries, stopping to discuss them as we scrolled down the page.  This opportunity to view how other students responded to the story was a highly motivating, meaningful literacy activity.

Our class thought the acrostic poems by Grace, Michael and Ryan described Pippi accurately: 

"They made it just like Pippi is in the story. They described Pippi."

The Missing Posters by Angel and Alex were very interesting to the firstgraders.  We discussed how posters like these would be used in real life if someone was missing.

Jonathon's letter to Pippi persuading her to stay in school was another favorite because we had talked a lot about this topic too.

The newspaper article with comments made by Pippi made our Paige think Pippi sounded like Junie B. Jones - a bit outrageous!  When we read the other news articles about Pippi being new in town, what she did to the burglars, Adolf being being beaten by her, and how she saved the children, our class wanted to hear all the details that the 4th graders had written.   We think Rosebud, Joe, Garrett, Henry, Billy, Isaiah, Andrew, and Justin are very good newpaper reporters!

Postcards from Dad by John, Emily, Emma, Monique, Elizabeth, and McKenzie - we were very impressed with your drawings and interesting ideas about where Pippi's "Father Longstocking" had been.  These generated lots of discussion and reminders that the cannibals are just part of a fictional (make believe) story.

Nick and Tim's interview with Pippi was a big hit with everyone.   As soon as we read it, the firstgraders suggested acting it out and started to say which parts they wanted.  We are planning to print it out and "do the interview" since reading scripts and role playing are favorite literacy activities this year!  We'll let you know how it turns out.

We think the fourth graders did a great job writing and illustrating this story.  Thanks for sharing your work with us!

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