Who's got mail? Using literature to promote authentic letter writing
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=85
A lesson plan for grades 3–5 English Language Arts
This lesson uses literature and shared writing to teach letter-writing format and promote authentic writing skills. Students listen to and talk about The Gardener by Sarah Stewart and Dear Mr. Blueberry by Simon James, both of which are stories that deal with correspondence, then participate in a collaborative, whole-group letter-writing activity. When students are comfortable with the parts of a letter, they write to adults who are close to them. After they’ve drafted their letters, students work in small, collaborative groups to edit and revise. Readwritethink provides many suggestions for variations on and extensions to the lesson.
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
English Language Arts (2004)
Grade 3
- Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
- Objective 4.09: Produce work that follows the conventions of particular genres (e.g., personal narrative, short report, friendly letter, directions and instructions).
Grade 4
- Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
- Objective 4.09: Produce work that follows the conventions of particular genres (e.g., personal and imaginative narrative, research reports, learning logs, letters of request, letters of complaint).
Grade 5
- Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
- Objective 4.09: Produce work that follows the conventions of particular genres (e.g., clarification, essay, feature story, business letter).
