Angela Nijem Maggie Cheek ECED 4300 Section B Dr. Tonja Root Fall rd Grade Correspondence: Letters to Authors and Illustrators

Maggie Cheek: pre-writing ELA3W2 The student writes in a variety of genres, including narrative, informational, persuasive, and response to literature. The student produces a response to literature that: d. Uses appropriate organizational structures to ensure coherence (T-charts, compare and contrast, letter to author, rewrite the ending, beginning, middle, and end with details from the text).

PLO: Students will use a graphic organizer to complete the prewriting of a letter to an author or illustrator. Maggie Cheek: pre-writing

Form of Writing: Letters to Authors and Illustrators We write letters to authors & illustrators to: –share feelings –share likes and dislikes about their books –ask questions

We are going to write a letter to your favorite author or illustrator. Think of a book you like. Why did you like the book, or the pictures? What was your favorite part of the story, or your favorite picture? What is something you would like to tell the author or illustrator? These are examples of what you could put in your letter to your author. Form of Writing: Letters to Authors and Illustrators

Stage of Writing: pre-writing decide your audience, purpose, form, and topic organize your ideas (using a graphic organizer) write using words and phrases do NOT focus on spelling and grammar

We will pre-write our letter first. Gather and organize our information –We must decide our form, topic, purpose, and audience first. Form: Letter to an author or illustrator Topic: Our favorite book(s) that he or she writes or illustrates Purpose: To inform the author or illustrator of how much we enjoy his or her books or pictures. Audience: The author or illustrator we are writing to. We will use a graphic organizer to help us with our letter.

Date:_________ Author’s Name (Jane Doe) and Title (Dr, Mr., Mrs.)_____________________________ Address:__________________________ City, State, Zip_____________________ Dear (Author or Illustrator’s Title and Name)_____________, Introduce yourself: My name is____________. I am _____________ years old. I like books about___________. What was your favorite book the author wrote or illustrated?_________________________________________________ What three things did you like about it? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ What three questions could you ask the author? _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Thank the author for reading___________________________ Closing__________________, Signature________________ Modified from: © Teacher Created Resources, Inc.,. (2010). Let's write the author. Retrieved from

Published Example O., Margaret. (2009). Letters from kids. Retrieved from Dear Ellen Jackson, I think your book Turn of the Century was wonderful. My favorite time period was the 1400s. At first I didn’t want to read it because I think history is boring until I read your book. I like wearing fancy cloths even though my classmates don’t. Thank you for writing Turn of the Century. Sincerely, Margaret O.

Practice Activity As a class, we will complete our own graphic organizer. We will write the author and illustrator, Dr. Seuss.

Assessment Activity Now that you have had practice, I would like you to complete your own graphic organizer to an author or illustrator of your choice. You may choose any author or illustrator except Dr. Seuss.

Angela Nijem: drafting GPS: ELA3W1 The student demonstrates competency in the writing process. The student m. Pre-writes to generate ideas, develops a rough draft, rereads to revise, and edits to correct.

Angela Nijem: drafting PLO: The students will draft a letter to an author or illustrator using their graphic organizer.

Form of Writing: Letters to Authors and Illustrators We write letters to authors & illustrators to: –Ask questions –Share feelings and ideas

Stage of Writing: drafting During drafting, we: –complete thoughts & sentences –skip lines –do not worry about mechanics –focus on content

Published Example Dear J. K. Rowling, I love your books a lot. They are awesome. My favorite book in the series is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. That one is so exciting because when he catches the portkey it takes him to where Valdemort is being recreated. The recreation was so thrilling in the book that I will never forget it. I think the scariest one in the series is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Every time I read it I get a chill. The part that scared me the most was where he stabbed the basilisk fang into the diary. I read the book two days ago. I was babysitting my little brother and he had me read that part to him and he said that part gave him a chill too. I used to get scared really easily but now I only get scared in life threatening situations. I’m really glad you wrote these books. I got the first book in my school library. When I was finished with it, I was like Wow! That is so intriguing. It was so good. Since my parents aren’t really sci fi people, my best friend’s mom told me what the books were about. She has read them all. What character do you pretend you are when you read the books? I pretend I am Harry or Hermione. For some reason I just can’t see out of Ron’s point of view. You are my favorite author ever. Your books change my life in some way or another every day. Your series helped me get through my grandmother’s death. Sincerely, Allison Regehr 4th grade, Jefferson Elementary School Great Bend, KS Regehr, A. "Read Across America Menu." KNEA Tools Web. 24 Oct

Practice Activity -As a class, we will use our graphic organizer to write a letter to Dr. Seuss. -Together, we will turn our ideas into complete sentences.

Assessment Activity Using your own completed graphic organizer, create a draft to any author or illustrator. Remember to: –create sentences –focus on content –do not worry about mechanics