Ask each of your students to pick a family member who does not reside with them. Send them home with a letter that indicates the project your class will undertake and the necessity for a current address of the chosen relative. Also request each parent to provide the appropriate number of stamped envelopes for the duration of the project (i.e. if the project lasts eight months, request they provide eight stamped envelopes).
Work with your students to come up with simple questions they can ask their relatives. Suggest that they consider topics related to family history, each relative's hobbies or advice on a subject.
Instruct your students to make a short list of topics they wish to cover in their individual letters in an ordered manner, much like an outline. These topics should include a student's update about personal, current events, an introduction to the letter writing project and one to three open-ended questions for the relative to answer. Depending on the average age of your students, consider whether having them create a detailed outline is appropriate to provide greater depth. A good rule of thumb: for students ages 9 and under, a short list with three major points is enough; for students age 10 and up, an outline is feasible.
Show them the format of a letter including the placement of date, greeting, the body of the letter and a closing line and signature. Give your students at least one practice sheet with a note to younger students that it is a first draft and not the letter they will send, otherwise, they might spend a lot of time drawing pictures in the margins or taking extra time to be overly precise.
Edit the first draft letters to correct for grammar, spelling and format and return the letters to them the next day for final drafts. Have each of your students address and stamp their own letters, and if possible, bring them to the nearest mailbox to be picked up.
Continue the project by instructing them to write new letters to their chosen relatives at the beginning of each month of school. If they received responses from their family members, show them how to respond appropriately to carry on written conversations.