Unit Plan: Letter Writing

Lisa Napell Dicksteen

The long-term objective of this unit is to have seventh grade students understand the differences between, and the different uses of, the friendly letter and the business letter, and to be able to compose either competently. They will learn the formats of the different letter types (heading, salutation, body, closing, signature), as well as the uses of each type of correspondence. In the process, they will become familiar with the concepts of creating a tone of voice in a text, utilizing the most effective rhetorical approach for different occasions, and using written language for effective social communication with a variety of people. In addition, they will have some practice with peer reviewing as a warm-up for doing more extensive peer reviewed projects.

The unit will take up one week, which consists of five consecutive 45 minute class periods.

The materials needed for this unit include those provided by the school, and those which the students must bring from home.

• The school supplies: poster board, magnets, markers, photocopies.
• The students supply: paper, pen, four #10 envelopes, two $.37 stamps. (Students desiring to write to family or firms overseas will be permitted to do so and appropriate postage will be requested upon completion and weighing of individual letters.)

Lesson #1: Writing a Friendly Letter

Opening discussion of letter writing: 20 minutes

· Have any of you ever written a letter? To whom? Why?

· To whom might you write a friendly letter (suggestions on the board)

· Discussion of attending a wedding – formal v. informal clothes

· T-Chart (informal/casual v. formal) types of letters, clothes, speech

· Hang poster of sample friendly letter (text attached)

o Review parts of letter

· Question about use of language in sample – OK for formal too?

· Colloquialism

o What is it?

o Solicit examples (put on board)

Details of Writing a Friendly Letter: 20 minutes

· Five parts of a friendly letter handout (see attached handout)

· Review tips for writing a friendly letter

· Discuss tomorrow’s project (writing a friendly letter)

· Solicit input regarding who they are writing to

· Begin writing – heading and salutation minimum

· Answer questions

Review homework assignment: 5 minutes

· Remind students to write in planners

o Bring in address of person to whom they are writing friendly letter

o Decide to whom they want to write business letter

o Find company address and bring to class

o Bring four envelopes and two stamps

o Remind students not to put stamps on envelopes

Lesson #2: Writing a Friendly Letter

Review for writing the Friendly Letter: 10 minutes

· Review parts of letter and tips

· Discuss things they might want to write about (school, sports, events, etc)

Composing the Friendly Letter: 25 minutes

· Have students complete their friendly letters, reminding them to include at least one colloquialism and to use language close to their natural speech patterns.

· Minimum of two body paragraphs of several sentences each.

· Answer individual questions as necessary. (Gives opportunity to see that students are working and that they are not writing anything inappropriate.)

Wrap up: 5 minutes

· Assign neat re-write of letter for homework.

· Reminders about bringing in envelopes, corporate addresses, and stamps.

Lesson #3: Writing the Business Letter

Conclude Friendly Letter Project: 10 minutes

· Hang poster of sample envelope

· Discuss proper format for addressing envelope for Friendly Letter

· Address letters

· Put letters in envelopes, stamp, DO NOT SEAL and hand in to teacher for review and mailing

Discussing the Business Letter: 5 minutes

· Reminder of parts of a letter

· Similarities and differences between business and friendly letter

o Tone

o Language

o Format

What Type of Business Letter?: 10 minutes

· Discussion of who students plant to write to and why (compliment or complaint?)

· Framing a complaint effectively (see attached handout)

Composing the Business Letter: 20 minutes

· Students begin drafting body text

· Answer individual questions as needed

Lesson #4: Writing the Business Letter

Review for writing the Business Letter: 15 minutes

· Review parts of letter and tips

· Discuss what students are writing about

· Hand out and review grading rubric

Composing the Business Letter: 20 minutes

· Students complete drafting of body text

· Answer individual questions as needed

Discussing Peer Reviewing: 10 minutes

· Overview of purpose of having someone else review your work

· Responsibility of editor to point out, not to correct

· Editing symbols (handout)

Lesson #5: Writing and Peer Reviewing the Business Letter

Peer Review Review: 5 minutes

· Reminder of job of reviewer and use of editing symbols

Peer Review: 15 minutes

· Swapping and editing of papers

· Answer questions as necessary

Completing the Business Letter: 15 minutes

· Students return papers to their authors

· Discuss editing suggestions

Wrap up: 10 minutes

· Students address and stamp envelopes

· Begin re-write of letter with corrections and changes

· If completed, place in envelope (DO NOT SEAL) and hand in

· If not completed, complete for homework and bring in, in UNSEALED, stamped envelope

Accommodations:

Those students who have difficulty with written communication for whatever reason will be given the opportunity to create their letters orally. This will be accomplished either by providing a tape recorder or by having the student’s inclusion partner take dictation. However the information is delivered, the text will be written, with the assistance/direction of the student in question either by the teacher or by the inclusion partner by hand or on the computer. In this way these students will be able to complete and mail both letters with their classmates.

Assessment:

The friendly letters will be sent to family, friend, or other person with whom writer is on a friendly basis. The business letters, which will focus on a compliment or a complaint, will be sent to the companies chosen by the students. In this way they will “publish” their work to a real audience and may receive a response from that audience as well. I will know that my students have accomplished the goals set for this unit when their letters are completed (meaning written, edited, and proofed), addressed, stamped, and placed in the mail. Additional validation for the student writers will come from any responses received from the people and companies to whom they write.

Both letters will be assessed on the use of proper (and appropriate) letter format.

Friendly letters will not be graded, but they will be reviewed prior to mailing and may be responded to on an individual basis in order to reinforce good efforts or assist students having difficulties.

Business letters will be graded based on a rubric covering spelling, grammar, effectiveness, and following directions. Any responses received from companies will be displayed on the class bulletin board.

Reflection:

While I have not tried these lessons in a classroom situation, I am confident that they would be effective and that the students would enjoy the process, while they learned. There are two risks I can think of. The first is that the discussions and/or the writing itself will take longer than anticipated, making the unit run into a sixth day. By watching the clock and keeping tangential discussion to a minimum, I think I can minimize that problem. The second relates to the effectiveness of the peer review sessions. This can be managed by making sure that students realize that their input is important to their partners and that their job is to assist, rather than to be punitive.

The Teacher Candidate Proficiencies reflected in this unit plan are:

· Belief that all students can learn

· Offering developmentally and conceptually appropriate instruction necessary to help all students learn

· Realizing the significance of both individual and group instruction and using both effectively

· Promotion of cooperation and teamwork

· Creation of a sense of responsibility in students

· Demonstration of synthesis of subject area curriculum goals and well-theorized teaching strategies that are appropriate for the particular community of students.

· Creation of a classroom atmosphere that encourages all students to achieve curriculum goals

· Demonstration of creativity in matching instructional materials and strategies with subject area curriculum in a manner that serves both the classroom community and the larger community beyond classroom and school

· Assessment criteria and standards clearly communicated to the students

· Accommodations for special needs made where appropriate

Top of Form

ANCILLARY TEXTS:

Friendly Letter Poster:

Poster is accompanied by arrows cut from colored construction paper. One arrow for each part of the letter (heading, greeting, body, closing, signature) to be added during discussion.

Tips for Writing a Friendly Letter:

1. You may utilize informal English.
2. You may choose any greeting.
3. You may utilize abbreviations (N.Y.) and contractions (don’t, can’t).
4. Colloquialisms are OK! A colloquialism is an informal word or phrase used by a particular group of people. (‘sup?)
5. You may use slang too. Slang is the language used conversationally or informally to lend color or feeling. (cool, super, awesome, LOL) While curse words are slang, all slang is not curse words and (of course) curse words are not acceptable in any of our letters.
6. You may include a post script (P.S.).
7. You may write on both sides of the paper.
8. You may utilize a friendly, familiar tone in your text.
9. You may choose any style of closing.

Tips for Writing a Business Letter:

1. Only formal language is acceptable.
2. You must use the Dear Mr/Ms or Dear Sir/Madam greeting.
3. You may not utilize abbreviations (N.Y.) or contractions (don’t, can’t).
4. Colloquialisms and slang are not permitted.
5. Post scripts are not considered appropriate for business letters.
6. You may write only on one side of the paper.
7. You must maintain a formal, polite tone in your text.
8. You must use a formal closing such as, Sincerely yours, Yours truly, or With regards.

Tips for Writing a Business Letter of Complaint:

1. Observe the proper format and style.
2. Begin with a compliment.
3. Be specific: Rather than “These sneakers are trash!” Try, “I have only worn these sneakers for a week or so and the soles are beginning to peel away from the rest of the sneaker already.”
4. Be reasonable: Don’t ask for a new bicycle if the seat is tearing, but don’t be afraid to ask for a new seat.
5. Enclose any receipts, UPC codes, proofs of purchase, or other relevant material you have.
6. Close with a statement about your confidence in their desire to “make it right”.