Writingletterstopenpals!

I.

WritingStandards:(Fortheunit)
A.

CCSS.ELALITERACY.W.1.2
:
1. Writeinformative/explanatorytextsinwhichtheynameatopic,supplysomefactsaboutthetopic,and
providesomesenseofclosure.
B. CCSS.ELALITERACY.W.1.1
:
1. Writeopinionpiecesinwhichtheyintroducethetopicornamethebooktheyarewritingabout,statean
opinion,supplyareasonfortheopinion,andprovidesomesenseofclosure.
C. CCSS.ELALITERACY.L.1.1
:
1. DemonstratecommandoftheconventionsofstandardEnglishgrammarandusagewhenwritingor
speaking.
CCSS.ELALITERACY.L.1.1.C
.whichistoalignnounsandverbsforplurality.
D. CCSS.ELALITERACY.L.1.2
1. DemonstratecommandoftheconventionsofstandardEnglishcapitalization,punctuation,andspellingwhen
writing.
E. SandN:
CCSS.ELALITERACY.L.1.5.D
:
1. Distinguishshadesofmeaningamongverbsdifferinginmanner(e.g.,
look,peek,glance,stare,glare,
scowl
)andadjectivesdifferinginintensity(e.g.,large,gigantic)bydefiningorchoosingthemorbyactingout
themeanings.
F. CCSS.ELALITERACY.SL.1.4
:
1. Describepeople,places,things,andeventswithrelevantdetails,expressingideasandfeelingsclearly.
G. CCSS.ELALITERACY.SL.1.6
:
1. Producecompletesentenceswhenappropriatetotaskandsituation.(Seegrade1Languagestandards1
and3
here
forspecificexpectations.)

II.

III.

Objectives:
A. Studentswillimprovetheirwritingskills.
B. Studentswillwriteletterstostudentsinanotherclassroomtogettoknowthem.
Procedures:
A. Dayone:
1. Whoareyourfriends?(Everyoneinclass)
2. Whatdoweknowaboutourfriends?(Favoritecolors,foodtheylike,gamestheyplay,
abouttheirfamiliesetc)
3. Whyaretheyourfriends?(Welikethem,weplaytogether,weknowaboutthem)
4. Wewrotevalentinelettersforourfriends.whydidwewritethemletters?(Tomake
themfeelgoodandmakeusfeelgoodetc)
5. Dowewanttohavemorefriends?
6. Wearegoingtowriteletterstomeetnewfriends.
a) Wewontmeetthesefriendsorplaywiththemontheplaygroundetc
b) (Usethesilhouettestorepresentournewfriends)
7. Ifwearegoingtowritetoournewfriends,whattoweneedtoincludeinourletter?
a) Canwewritethesameasourvalentinelettersaboutwhatweliketodowith
them?(No,wedontknowthemyet)
b) Whatcanwewrite?
(1) Aboutourselves
(2) Questionstogettoknowthem
(3) Apicture
(a) ofourselvesorsomethingelserelevanttoourletter
c) Wearegoingtomailourlettersandtheywilltakealongtimetogettoourfriends
andthentocomebacktous.
(1) ShowmapofUSwithAlaskaandWashingtonmarked.(tieintoreading
unit)
B. Daytwo:
1. Startbrainstormingthingstotellournewfriendsaboutourselves.(asagroupfirstand
thenturnthemlooseindividuallytocontinue)

IV.

V.

a) Theycanrefertothevideostheymadeofthemselvesearlierintheyear.
b) Organizeourthoughtsonaweb.
2. Brainstormquestionswecanaskthem(startasagroupandthenturnitovertothem)
a) Startwiththingsweknowaboutourfriendsinclasswewanttoknowaboutour
newfriends.
C. Daythree:
1. Continuebrainstorming.
2. Startdraftingletters.
a) Emphasisonnicehandwriting.
b) Discusswhatthingsweshoulddrawinourpictures.(Pictureofourselves=good,
pictureofananimalorsomethingwedidthisweekend=lesssense)
Materials:
A. Notebookfiles
B. Thoughtwebpapers
Evaluation:
A. Observestudentsastheywritetheirlettersrecordtheamountofsupportstudentsneedasthey
writetheirletters.Arestudentsabletotransfertheskillstheyacquiredduringourvalentineletter
activitytowritingtoourpenpals?

PARTTWO:

PenPalsFeb29March3

Standards

Monday29

Tuesday1

Thursday3

A.
1.

CCSS.ELALITERACY.W.1.2
:
Writeinformative/explanatorytextsinwhichtheynameatopic,supplysomefactsaboutthetopic,
andprovidesomesenseofclosure.
B. CCSS.ELALITERACY.W.1.1
:
1. Writeopinionpiecesinwhichtheyintroducethetopicornamethebooktheyarewritingabout,
stateanopinion,supplyareasonfortheopinion,andprovidesomesenseofclosure.
C. CCSS.ELALITERACY.L.1.1
:
1. DemonstratecommandoftheconventionsofstandardEnglishgrammarandusagewhenwriting
orspeaking.
CCSS.ELALITERACY.L.1.1.C
.whichistoalignnounsandverbsforplurality.
D. CCSS.ELALITERACY.L.1.2
1. DemonstratecommandoftheconventionsofstandardEnglishcapitalization,punctuation,and
spellingwhenwriting.
E. SandN:
CCSS.ELALITERACY.L.1.5.D
:
1. Distinguishshadesofmeaningamongverbsdifferinginmanner(e.g.,
look,peek,glance,stare,
glare,scowl
)andadjectivesdifferinginintensity(e.g.,large,gigantic)bydefiningorchoosingthem
orbyactingoutthemeanings.
F. CCSS.ELALITERACY.SL.1.4
:
1. Describepeople,places,things,andeventswithrelevantdetails,expressingideasandfeelings
clearly.
G. CCSS.ELALITERACY.SL.1.6
:
1. Producecompletesentenceswhenappropriatetotaskandsituation.(Seegrade1Language
standards1and3
here
forspecificexpectations.)

Objectives

Studentswillbrainstormand
Studentswillwriteadraft Studentswillwritefinal,
writedownideasofwhattotell oftheirlettertotheir
nicecopiesoftheir
theirpenpalsaboutthemselves. penpal.
letters.

Materials

Brainstormsheet
Formalizedprintedlists
Notebookfile
ofrequiredquestions.
Listofrequiredquestions.
Brainstormpapers.
(Writtenaswegoontheboard)

Drafts,finalpaper

Procedures

Introducevocabularyterm
penpal(previouslywehavejust
usednewfriend)
Lastweekwecameupwith
questionstoaskournew
friends.Whatdoournew
friendsknowaboutus?
(Roleplaywithoneoftheaides
measkingthemlotsof
questions,askiftheaideknows
anythingaboutme)
Discussifitmakessenseto
startourletterwithabunchof
questions(itdoesnt,weshould
tellaboutourselvesfirst)
Asagroupdiscussthingswe
shouldinclude,likeourname,
wherewelive,whatgradewe
arein,howmanypeoplearein
ourfamily.
Theywilleachberequiredto
writeaboutthosedetails.
Today,theywillwritethe
answerstotheirquestionsand
comeupwith3+morethingsto
telltheirpenpal.(Favoritecolor,
sports,movies,funnystoryetc)
(Theycanrefertotheirvideo
theymadeatthebeginningof
theyeariftheyneedto)
Turnthemloosetowrite,have
themwritetheanswerstomy
questionsandbrainstorm/write
theirthreeotherdetails.

Writedraftoftheirletters.
startbyreviewingwhat
aletterlookslike(where
donamesgoetc)
reviewtheorder,tell
aboutourselves,then
askquestions
startwriting
theywillalsodrawa
pictureoftheirselftogo
withtheirletter.
S,NandAshouldbe
relativelyindependent
(havedirectionsonthe
smartboard)
ForE,M,JandU,
provideextrasupport,
askthemthequestions
theyarerespondingto
andhavethemwritethe
answerintheirletters.
Encouragesentencelike
writing,butletthem
independentlywritetheir
letter.(Includea
separatesheetwiththe
questionstheyare
answering,their
answers,andthefull
questionstheyare
askingtheirpeers.)
Iftheyfinishearly,start
writingtheirnicefinal
draftanddrawingtheir
picture.(ForS,NandA,
pictureshouldbea
separate
paperespeciallyforNto
reducefrustrationand
chancesofhavingto
redoeverything)

Finishdraftsquicklyif
needed.
Haveminiwriters
conferencestopointout
capitalization/punctuation
etcatthevarious
appropriatelevels.(S
andNshouldhavetime
wordsincluded)
Rewriteletterswithnice
handwritingand
correctionstosendto
newfriends.
Drawtheirpictures.

IFtheydontfinish,use
fridaycatchuptimetodo
so.

IFtheyfinishearly,give
thematinyenvelope
postitandchallenge
themtowriteatinyletter
tosomeone.

OTHEROPTION:
Ifmanystudentsfinish
early(Ornextweekor
Friday)minilessonabout
addressingthe
envelopemore
exposurethananything.

Evaluation

Whengivenanassignment
paper,studentswillrecord
detailsaboutthemselvesand
writeatleast3uniquedetails
aboutthemselves.

Studentswilldraftaletter
totheirpenpaldescribing
themselvesandasking
questionstogettoknow
theirpenpal.

Studentswillbeableto
usetheirroughdraftof
theirlettertowritea
lettertotheirpenpalsto
besentinthemail.