Correspondence: Friendly Letters Megan Adams & Jamie Eunice ECED 4300 B Dr. Tonja Root Spring 2007 Fourth Grade

Megan Adams ECED 4300 B Dr. Tonja Root Spring 2007 Fourth Grade Correspondence: Friendly Letters Pre-writing/Drafting

–Less formal than a business letter –Used to communicate with people you already know –Can be used when writing with pen and paper or in format Form of Writing: Friendly Letter

Form of Writing: Friendly Letter, Cont’d. –Can be used for several purposes: pen pal letters, thank you notes, invitations, requests, and keeping in touch with friends and relatives –Has a certain structure; includes heading, greeting, body, closing, and signature PS, or postscript, is optional

–first stage –“getting ready to write” –70% of writing done in this stage –Brainstorming is an activity you can do to help choose a topic: make a list of ideas and pick one –Decide on a purpose—to inform, entertain, persuade, etc. –Consider audience—classmates, friends, self, family, adults Stage of Writing: Pre-Writing/Drafting

Stage of Writing: Pre-Writing/Drafting, Cont’d. –Graphic organizers are used to organize ideas during pre-writing * In this case, pre-writing and drafting are combined because many students tend to write complete sentences in their graphic organizers. We will continue with revising instead of using a separate drafting stage.

Trade book: Schanzer, R. (1997). How we crossed the west: The adventures of Lewis and Clark. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society Pages 2 and 3: –Letters from Lewis and Clark show all the components of friendly-letter structure. Although the wording is more formal than students are used to, the letters are great examples of what a friendly letter should look like.

–On the board, write the names of each section of the friendly letter. –Have students volunteer suggestions for each section. Use the current date. –Under the Body, have students give ideas or short sentences about information to be included in the letter. –Pick several students to sign their names at the bottom to show signature. –Discuss Post Script briefly. Practice Activity: Pre-writing/Drafting

Jamie Eunice ECED 4300 B Dr. Tonja Root Spring 2007 Fourth Grade Correspondence: Friendly Letters Revising

–Less formal than a business letter –Used to communicate with people you already know –Can be used when writing with pen and paper or in format Form of Writing: Friendly Letter

Form of Writing: Friendly Letter, Cont’d. –Can be used for several purposes: pen pal letters, thank you notes, invitations, requests, and keeping in touch with friends and relatives –Has a certain structure; includes heading, greeting, body, closing, and signature PS, or postscript, is optional

–Clarify and refine ideas by adding, deleting, substituting, and rearranging –Waiting a few days before rereading helps with spotting areas to revise Stage of Writing: Revising

Stage of Writing: Revising, Cont’d. –Make notes next to thoughts and ideas about which you are unsure –Share revisions with other people for feedback –Do not fix spelling and grammatical errors

Trade Book: James, E. and Barkin, C. (1993) Sincerely yours: How to write great letters. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company Chapter 1: Personal Letters – Chapter 1 covers friendly letters from invitations to letters of condolence and every topic in between.

–Use Friendly Letter graphic organizer in Microsoft Word. Copy heading, date, and greeting into template. –Revise Letter on the board by expanding notes into longer, more complex sentences and thoughts. Practice Activity: Revising

Practice Activity: Revising, Cont’d. –Transfer revisions into Microsoft Word. Ignore spelling and grammar. –Leave an idea out during revision and guide students in including it as a Post Script. –Fill in closing and discuss how the signature would be included (print and sign).