Activity
Other

Resignation Letter Tips

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a site to examine when one is deciding to resign from a current job. Gives great information on how to resign with tact, as well as excellent points on personal character and considerations.
Handout
Letter Writing Guide

Sample Interview Thank You Letter

For Students 9th - 10th
This informational site provides a well-written thank you letter exemplar. This example of a thank you letter is intended as a follow-up to an interview.
Lesson Plan
Other

Teachers Network: A Trip to Baseball Hall of Fame (Writing a Persuasive Letter)

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lesson focuses on improving students' persuasive writing skills. Students reseach baseball and then write a persuasive essay to convince the baseball coach that a trip the Baseball Hall in Fame would be beneficial to the members of...
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian American Art Museum: Letters From Frontier: Primary Documents

For Teachers 9th - 10th
George Catlin made extensive observations on the various native peoples that he encountered on his travels in the West. He recorded his experiences in letters and notes. These documents provide us with critical information on the culture...
Activity
Colorado State University

Colorado State Writing Center: Introduction: Writing Memos

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This resource includes information on the definition, purpose, audience, format, and types of memos.
Activity
Cyberbee

History Investigation: Old Hand Written Letter

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Examine this old hand-written letter to discover information about the author, his plans, and the time he lived in. A transcript of the letter is provided, as well as bonus activities and links to sources to complete the activities.
Lesson Plan
Writing Fix

Writing Fix: A Literature Inspired Writing Lesson: I Never Knew That!

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem discover that their seemingly "feeble" father has an astonishing ability with a rifle. For this assignment, writers will compose a letter to a parent or loved one, asking for a return letter that...
Lesson Plan
Teachnology

Teachnology: Lesson Plan: Letters From Rifka

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
For this 3rd through 5th grade lesson, students read the book Letters from Rifka by Karen Hesse and write responses as Tovah to three of Rifka's letters in their journal.
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Letter to the Mayor [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 4th Standards
"Letter to the Mayor" is a one page, nonfiction letter written to the mayor by 2000 school children in Chicago. In the letters, the children addressed issues such as trash, gangs, computers, playgrounds, and safer streets. After reading...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: Creating a Business Letter Using Mail Merge

For Teachers 9th - 10th
For this lesson, students will learn to use the mail merge feature of their word processing software. They will utilize the Internet for research, compose a business letter, and key the letter using mail merge. This is a Commerce and...
Unknown Type
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Settlement Multiple Choice Questions [Pdf]

For Students 4th - 5th Standards
"Settlement with Multiple Choice Questions" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the hardships of life of the prairie for the early settlers. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: Snail Mail or E Mail Blast!

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students will use business letters and email to recruit professional members for the Career Technical Student Organization (CTSO) using the Chamber of Commerce member listing. This lesson plan is targeted toward Future Business Leaders...
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Exploring Audience in Persuasive Letter Writing

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Effective communication skills are critical for the present century. This unit plan stresses clear, persuasive communication that is meant to be shared with an audience beyond the classroom.
Handout
Towson University

Towson University: Online Writing Support: Parentheses

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry explains the uses for parentheses and provides examples.
Unit Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian in Your Classroom: Introduction to the Nature Journal [Pdf]

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st Standards
Smithsonian in the Classroom presents "Introduction to the Nature Journal." Teachers can download this comprehensive teaching package in which students will practice and develop their skills of writing observations and making hypotheses....
Handout
Online Writing Lab at Purdue University

Purdue University Owl: Audience and Purpose

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
An excellent resource for learning how to write effective and professional memos. Offers information on a basic plan, the parts of a memo, and necessary attachments.
Primary
Read Works

Read Works: Passages: "Patrick Cleburne's Proposal to Arm Slaves"

For Students 11th - 12th
[Free Registration/Login Required] In this letter from January 2, 1864, Patrick R. Cleburne, a Confederate commander, writes to a Confederate general proposing that black soldiers be added to their ranks as they were in grave danger of...
Interactive
Washington State University

Washington State University: Edith Wharton Society: A Life in Pictures and Text

For Students 9th - 10th
This site, presented by a professor at Washington State University, provides information on Wharton's life and career and pictures of Wharton and locations important in her life and writings.
Unit Plan
Education Development Center

Alma: Setting the Tone

For Students 9th - 10th
Discover more about personal letter writing when you use this informative site from the Adult Literacy Media Alliance. This site gives you tips on how to set the tone of your personal letter. This is an excellent resource for all ages.
Handout
English Club

English Club: Alphabet

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st Standards
This EnglishClub resource provides basic information about letters of the alphabet, alphabetical order, upper case letters, lower case letters, and font styles.
Handout
English Club

English Club: English Alphabet

For Students 9th - 10th
This EnglishClub reference provides information about the English alphabet including examples of upper and lower case letters, alphabetical order, and the following font styles: cursive, serif, sans-serif, fantasy, and fixed-width.
Lesson Plan
Yale University

Yale New Haven Teachers Institute: A Man and His Murals

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A unit on the Mexican artist, Diego Rivera, that could be adapted to various grades. Includes lesson plans, a glossary, a bibliography for teachers and students, and plenty of information on Diego Rivera.
Lesson Plan
Ohio State University

Osu History Teaching Institute: Homestead Act of 1862

For Students 4th
Through the use of primary sources, 4th graders will understand the main concepts of the Homestead Act and use that information to write a letter to a relative explaining why they moved to Ohio.
Unit Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Go West: Imagining the Oregon Trail

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A 2,000-mile trek across a continent-with no idea what awaits you on the other side. Tell your students to put on their traveling shoes and prepare for the journey of their lives! In this lesson, students compare imagined travel...