Discuss First: Why is it a good idea to follow up with a thank you letter to someone?

Before we get started, let’s consider some advice about what we want our final thank you letter to look like.

ADVICE Make sure the thank you letters are well written. It can be very annoying for someone to have to struggle to read handwriting. Always use your best and clearest handwriting.

ADVICE Practice first! Write your letter on a piece of paper as a practice copy. Then re-write it “for realsies” on the good paper!

ADVICE Think about to whom you are writing the letter. Use the right style of writing and language --- should you be formal or informal ? Hey, man. Wut up? Dear Mr. So-and-So,

ADVICE Lay out your letter using paragraphs. This makes it easier for the reader.

Today First you will write your letter on notebook paper. This can be your messy, practice copy. You will re-copy it on the nice paper later.

Today First you will write your letter on notebook paper. This can be your messy, practice copy. You will re-copy it on the nice paper later.

Let’s Get Started!

Write it Here: ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ Begin with Today’s Date on the Top Line Right now, you are writing on regular notebook paper. You’ll get the GOOD paper later.

Does your date look like this? _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ Friday, November 13, 2015 Did you spell these words correctly? Check again!

_______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ Friday, November 13, 2015 Did you capitalize the right words? Do you have two commas in the right places? Does your date look like this?

Friday, November 13, 2015 After the date, we will write what’s called the salutation. That’s the “Dear So-and-So” part of the letter. Dear Officer Johnson,_______________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________

Here’s How We Will Start! _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ Friday, November 13, 2015 Skip one line between the date and the salutation. Dear Officer Johnson, The “Dear” part is called the salutation. Don’t forget your comma after the name!

Friday, November 13, 2015 Now we will write the body of the letter. We will have 3 paragraphs here. Dear Officer Johnson,___________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________

Here’s How We Will Start the First Body Paragraph _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ Friday, November 13, 2015 There’s no need to skip a line again. Dear Officer Johnson, See how we indent the first body paragraph? I want to thank you for coming to, to talk to us about all the important facts today. I thought it was really cool.

What should my first body paragraph be about? What do I say in it? Thank the person for coming to talk to us! Acknowledge that the person is probably busy, but he volunteered his time to do this!

Let’s write the second body paragraph.

Here’s How We Will Start the Second Body Paragraph _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ Do not skip a line between paragraphs. See how we indent the second body paragraph? I want to thank you for coming to talk about all the important facts today. I thought it was really cool. One of the most interesting things you said was about how you got your

What should my second body paragraph be about? What do I say in it? Summarize something he said or did or shared with you that you liked! Explain what you liked about it.

Let’s write the third body paragraph.

Here’s How We Will Start the Third Body Paragraph _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ Do not skip a line between paragraphs. Remember that we will indent again. I want to thank you for coming to talk about all the important facts today. I thought it was really cool. One of the most interesting things you said was about how you got your… What I learned from hearing you speak to us today is that…

What should my third body paragraph be about? What do I say in it? Explain something you learned today that you didn’t know before. It could also be something you never thought about before.

Let’s end our thank you letter.

Here’s How We Will End! _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ ______________________________________ I’m glad I know all these cool things about police officers! Pretend this is the last sentence of your last paragraph. Skip a line here Write your closing with a comma. Sincerely, Billy Jones

What can I say besides “sincerely” for my closing?

Find a partner. Have your buddy read YOUR letter aloud TO YOU. Does anything sound funny? If it doesn’t sound right, you need to make a change! So… make those changes now! Have one more DIFFERENT person read your letter again to you. Now how does it sound? Get ready to check your letter!

You’re now ready for the nice paper.

Today’s Date Dear So-and-So, Indent your third body paragraph and write about something you learned today that you didn’t know before. Sincerely, Your Full Name Indent your second body paragraph and write about something you liked. Summarize some interesting info! Indent your first body paragraph and write about how you are thankful that the visitor took time for you today. Begin writing your letter on the NICE paper!

What else can I do to make my thank you letter seem special? I can draw a nice border around the page. I can sketch a thank you cartoon to go with it. I can use nice, colored ink to emphasize certain words.

Your letter will be a surprise and it will make someone smile today!