People nowadays communicate with each other in many ways. Beyond sending letters and postcards, Internet services such as e-mail, blogs, chatrooms, instant messaging, and video conferencing are used. It should be no surprise that children love to get mail too, and it is nice to know that the envelope-and-stamp variety has not lost its charm. Children's eyes light up as they rush to open an envelope and see what is inside. This exciting moment is repeated over and over in third grade classrooms as students take part in The Great Mail Race. This article describes The Great Mail Race lessons developed by the authors in order to work collaboratively on all curriculum activities and to be a part of their social studies unit on communities and mapping skills. Through The Great Mail Race, the authors enabled their third grade students to communicate with other students across the 50 states and to learn about the great variety that makes up their country. This article also presents teaching tips for The Great Mail Race. (Contains 4 notes.)