Letters
Genre Definition
A letter can be handwritten, typed, or printed. It is a form of communication. Letters are usually sent in an envelope by mail or messenger. A letter has three main components; which are a date, a greeting, and a closing.
Classroom Use
Writing activity: Give students the opportunity to practice writing letters. Prompt them to write a message to their future selves. They should make sure to include all the parts of a letter.
Reading activity: When introducing letter writing, first do this analysis activity. Put students into small groups and give them four or five examples of letters. Have them analyze the letters for similarities and differences. Then as a class, come up with a set of criteria that all letters must have. Once your students have discovered the parts of a letter, you can hang a poster up (like the one below) as a reference.
Using Technology: After working on writing letters, have students apply what they know about letters to emails. Teach proper email etiquette and professionalism when writing emails.
Selection Process
When selecting letters to use in your classroom, it's important to pay attention to the purpose of your lesson. If you are teaching how to write a letter, the letters that you select to as samples should contain all the parts of a letter so students know what to include in their own letters.
Texts that I Recommend
Summary: This book is a letter from Barack Obama written to his daughters. It is an inspiring story that includes stories of famous people in the United States’ history. This would be a great book to use in a social studies lesson.
Text Features: This book has beautiful illustrations and large, kid-friendly font. The back of the book includes a brief biography of all the people talked about throughout the book.
APA citation: Obama, B., & Long, L. (2010). Of thee I sing: A letter to my daughters. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.
Lexile: 830L
Text Complexity grade band: 4-5
Read aloud grade band: 2-3
Support: this book doesn’t have all the parts of a letter, so it may be necessary to use other samples to emphasize to students that letters contain a date, a greeting, and a closing.
Summary: Tells a story using examples of letters written back and forth between George Washington and Gilbert Stuart, a famous artist. This could be used as a writing activity and in social studies as well.
Text Features: Each letter includes the three main components: a date, a greeting, and a closing. It contains nice illustrations. The cursive font may be hard to read for some students.
Book Reviews: "This collaboration's clever epistolary narrative and playful pictures present a fresh, remarkably humanizing view of our first president." --Kirkus Reviews
APA citation: Cullen, L., & Carpenter, N. (2015). Dear Mr. Washington. New York City, NY: Dial Books.
Lexile: AD760L
Text Complexity grade band: 4-5
Read aloud grade band: 2-3
Support: Provide students with background knowledge on the time period and Gilbert Stuart. During the time when George Washington was president (1787), cameras didn’t exist so painters would paint people’s portraits. Gilbert Stuart was an artist who painted George Washington’s portrait.
