Have your class members consider how their lifestyle choices may differ from those of their grandparents when they were younger. After brainstorming and discussing differences in lifestyle, pupils watch a Coca-Cola advertisement that...

Students use Internet research methods to find information about manatees. They write a story about a manatee, told through the manatee's eyes, and also a letter to an environmental group, thanking them for what they do to protect the...

Ninth graders write a letter to someone who is deserving of thanks. Peer and self-editing takes place. After the writing process is completed and a copy is made for the portfolio, envelopes are distributed, addressed, sealed, and mailed.

As part of their study of Elie Wiesel's Night, individuals assume the voice of an Auschwitz survivor and craft a letter to a former SS officer who worked at the camp and claims he is not guilty of any crime. 

Teach your upper graders how to use an idea web to develop a topic for writing. After reading a variety of stories about friendship (a list of stories with the theme of friendship is included), model using an idea web. Class members...

Emotional appeal or argument? That is the question. An informative instructional activity helps your class recognize the difference between a logical argument and an emotional appeal and learn how to craft an argumentative response....

Students talk about being a good citizen and what it means to them.  In this citizenship activity, students read, Arthur Meets the President and discuss the aspects of the book as they go along.  Students brainstorm a list of...

Learners write a friendly letter. They write a friendly letter to author, Cynthia Rylant, after reading a number of her books, and watch a presentation by the teacher that describes how to write the letter. They word process their...

Letters ... a lost art or good resource? Scholars add letter writing to their informational text chart and describe the features of a letter. They then look at page 38 in Promises to Keep and complete a Perspectives Venn...

Pupils examine and differentiate between rural, urban, and suburban communities. They describe their local areas, view and discuss the images on the West Virginia Quarter, and write a friendly letter describing a camping trip.

Students learn to check and evaluate their letter writing skills using a checklist created during interactive writing sessions. The lesson provides students with criteria for good letter writing and serves as an evaluation tool for...

Elementary learners write friendly letters with the same subject to two contrasting readers or audiences. They choose words and phrases that will be the most effective for the audience they are trying to reach. They read both letters and...

Use this resource as an evaluation tool, or have your class assess their own letter writing skills. They will use a checklist that they create during some interactive writing sessions as criteria for their self-evaluation. Teachers can...

Through this activity pupils learn about King Kamehameha I, and letter writing. It begins with an overview of Hawaiian history, with an emphasis on King Kamehameha I, and then goes on to a letter writing activity. Each person writes a...

Students create friendly letters and surveys to other schools. In this letter writing lesson, students format friendly letters to other school and request a reply. Students chart the replies on a map and share information from the...

Second graders compose friendly letters. In this writing lesson, 2nd graders read the text Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez and discuss the rights of farm workers. Students brainstorm things at school they would like to change...

First graders study the postal system and letter writing. They exchange class letters with another class in a different area and become pen pals with residents in a local nursing home.

Readers of Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida place themselves in the story and craft a persuasive letter to a character in Victor Martinez's National Book Award-winning novel.

Students read the book The Whiningdingdilly and complete a Venn Diagram, write a friendly letter, find misplaced animals, and morph animals and humans. In this The Whiningdingdilly lesson plan, students practice reading, writing, map...

Explore narrative writing by participating in a role-playing activity. In this perspective instructional activity, learners define first and third person in writing and discuss how it changes the mood of the reader. The first activity...

Students read and review business letters and informal letters and evaluate the different components necessary for each type of letter. They write a business and an informal letter then convert a business to an informal letter and vice...

What can your pupils do to promote better conditions for wildlife? After researching issues around wildlife management, class members use the Internet to locate three different organizations devoted to protecting wildlife. They then...

Students acquire a pen pal in a foreign country and write letters at least twice a month throughout the year to exchange with them. At the end of the year, they write an essay that compares one important difference and one important...

Third graders write a thank-you note and a formal letter of request that included relevant information, such as a return address, date, inside address, proper salutation, body, closing, and signature. They write an imaginary letter to...