Use Junk Mail to Help Your Mentee Learn To most people, junk mail is just that: It’s junk or trash to toss. But you can turn it into a useful learning tool. Use it to help your mentee improve skills in geography, math, map reading and more. First, suggest your mentee pretend to be a detective. Ask her to examine each piece of mail to find where it came from. She can search for a postmark, publisher or return address. Or she can check the reply address on the literature inside. Once your mentee pinpoints the place of origin, help her: Locate that place on a map. See if more junk mail comes from certain areas. Sort the mail using different criteria. Sort by state or regions of the country—like southwest or northeast; by which ocean or mountain range the mailer’s address is closest to; by climate (desert, temperate, etc.); or by which major city or landmark it’s nearest. Use the map to measure how far away that place is from your hometown. Which mail pieces traveled the farthest distance? The least? Use a highway map to plan a pretend trip between two cities where mail originated. Measure the mileage between them. Calculate how much gas it would take to drive. Estimate how long it would take. Plan a pretend vacation to one of the cities. Go to the library to research interesting places to see or do on a visit.

adapted from
Parent Connection
Virginia Beach City Public Schools