California has so many wonderful places to visit, and postcards are a fun way to let others know about where you’ve been! In this activity, students will create a postcard from California. The written part must include at least one fact about the landmark, and the picture must accurately depict the location.
Some popular tourist attractions in California are: Disneyland, San Diego Zoo, Lego Land, Golden Gate Bridge, Yosemite National Park, Big Sur, Lake Tahoe, and Redwood National and State Parks.
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Due Date:
Objective: Create a postcard from a landmark in California.
Student Instructions
Collect interesting and age-appropriate facts about your chosen California landmark before students begin writing. This ensures each postcard includes accurate information and sparks curiosity!
Demonstrate drawing a basic outline or cartoon of a famous California site on the board. Show students it doesn’t need to be perfect—just recognizable and creative!
Lead a class brainstorming session on fun, friendly ways to start their postcard notes. Encourage use of descriptive words and personal touches to make each message unique.
Explain that students can invent playful addresses for their postcard recipients (e.g., '123 Sunshine Lane, Funville, CA'). This adds creativity and practice with address formatting!
Pair students to swap postcard drafts and offer positive feedback or suggestions. This helps improve writing and builds classroom community.
The California landmark postcard activity is a creative lesson where students design a postcard featuring a famous California landmark. They must draw an accurate picture of the site and write a note including at least one fact about the landmark.
Guide students by having them choose a California landmark, use a two-cell storyboard or template, draw the landmark with the state name in one cell, and write a note with a factual description and a creative address in the other cell.
Popular California landmarks for postcards include Disneyland, San Diego Zoo, Lego Land, Golden Gate Bridge, Yosemite National Park, Big Sur, Lake Tahoe, and Redwood National and State Parks.
The written part should include a note to a friend or family member about the landmark visited, featuring at least one interesting fact and a creative address for the recipient.
This postcard activity is best for students in grades 3–6, making it ideal for elementary and early middle school classrooms.