Beyond the Classroom: put it in the mail

What is a message? This question has emerged with the addition of our new, indoor, mailboxes. One day two girls delivered a gift, a picture, to every child's mailbox. As children emptied their boxes, one proclaimed "this isn't a message, it's just a picture." Such a clear and seemingly simple question gave me pause. What is a message?

And this is how we began our journey. As we continue our conversations about the making of a message there seems to be a consensus among the children.

A message can have words and pictures
A message can have only words
A message can not be only a picture

Children continue to use the phrase, "it tells you" or "it tells people" to describe signs, symbols and pictures. I feel this phrase will be important in determining what a message is. For now, we are listening to the theories of children and making our own theories as teachers.

Is a letter a message?

Does a message need to be directed at another person?

"A message is on paper and at the end you put a heart"