Dear Me Letter

Materials/Equipment: Dear Mrs. LaRue:

Letters from Obedience School by Mark
Teague, Messages in the Mailbox: How to
Write a Letter by Loreen Leedy, Dear Me
Letter Template, stationary, envelopes,
pencils, markers

Differentiated Learning:
Auditory
Kinesthetic
Verbal/Linguistic

Visual/Spatial
Interpersonal
Intrapersonal

Curriculum Integration:

Blooms Taxonomy:

TEKS Achieved: 110.15-

Classroom Strategies:

Writing
Reading

Art
Social Studies

(b): (15B), (17), (18A), (21B),

(21C), 113.15- (a): (2)

Knowledge/Remember
Create
Comprehension/Understand Evaluate
Application

Cooperative Groups
Hands-On
Independent Activities

Submitted by: Christine Gatlin

Grade Level: 4th

Subject/Topic: English Language Arts & Reading, Writing

Rationale: Students will write letters that use appropriate conventions.

Objectives:

TSW learn the parts of a letter.

TSW write a letter using the parts of a letter (heading, salutation, body, closing, and signature).
TSW write a letter using appropriate punctuation and grammar.

Lesson Plan:

Introduction (Anticipatory Set/Motivation):

1. To grab the students attention ask them questions such as Have you ever written a letter
to somebody?, Who did you write it to?, What was it about?, Have you ever gotten a letter?,
Does anyone know the parts of a letter?

Process: (Plan how you will teach the lesson and follow the lesson plan cycle: Information Giving, Modeling, Check
for Understanding, Guided Practice, Independent Practice, Closure/Culminating Activity)

Information Giving: After introducing letters to the students, read the first 7 pages of
Messages in the Mailbox: How to Write a Letter by Loreen Leedy.
Modeling: Then read examples of Letters from the book Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from
Obedience School by Mark Teague. (Depending on amount of time you can read the entire
book or just a few of the letters)

Check for Understanding: After reading example letters, explain to the students that
they will now be writing a letter to themselves that they will be opening in the fall when

they are in 5th grade. Have them write a rough draft on the Dear Me Template so they
have a visual way of learning the parts of a letter.
Guided Practice: Tell the students they can write about anything they want. For example
what their strengths are and what they want to work on over the next few months, what
they want to accomplish by 5th grade, what life is like right now, their family, upcoming
events, ask questions to their future self, etc.
Independent Practice: After they have finished their rough draft, give each student
stationary to make their final copy of their Dear Me letter. Also give each student and
envelope they can decorate and address after they have finished writing the letter. Make
sure they include their name on the letter so teacher can deliver to each student in the
fall.
Enrichment/Extension: If they finish their Dear Me letter early, have them write a letter
to a family member, teacher, or friend. You can also bring extra picture books with
samples of letters so they can use as examples. For example With Love, Little Red Hen by
Alma Flor Ada, Yours Truly, Goldilocks by Alma Flora Ada, Sincerely, Katie: Writing a
Letter with Katie Woo by Fran Manushkin, Dear Annie by Judith Caseley.

Accommodations:
1.

2.

(for a child with special needs) I will provide a laptop for the student, so he or she can type up their letter instead
of hand writing it.
(for a student that is an ELL) I will provide them with a childrens book in Spanish that goes over the parts of the
letter. I will also provide them with a Dear Me template worksheet that has both English and Spanish words for
the parts of a letter.

Assessment/Evaluation (Students):

I will evaluate each individual student by having ones that feel

comfortable share their letter to themselves with the class and others who do not want to read theirs share it with a peer
or myself.

Assessment/Evaluation (Self):

I will take notes on which books the children liked most and see if writing a
draft helped with their final letter to themselves. I will also make sure to keep each letter and hand out to each student
next semester and evaluate the students reactions when reading their letters next semester.