In this lesson outline based on The Jolly Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg, students learn about parts of a letter, the different genres of mail, and letter attributes by studying the letters included in the book.

A kindergarten teacher shares how she introduced persuasive writing in her classroom. After a discussion about "problems" that need to be fixed in their school, the class decided they wanted to write the principal a persuasive letter...

Can you remember all of your ABC's? Computers need to "remember" letters too. Every time we use a computer to write a story, the computer needs to "remember" the letters in the story by saving them to the computer's memory as a file. In...

This student and teacher-friendly site explains the following: what a reference letter is; how to self-assess whether one should write the letter of reference; when to write a letter of reference; and what to say in a letter of reference.

Through the vast online resources available from EDSITEment, students can read the correspondence of the famous, the infamous and the ordinary, some of whom lived through extraordinary times. Use these fascinating letters as a starting...

Students will compare and contrast an academic and an Impressionist portrait through a writing exercise and discussion. Each student will then write a formal commission letter to one of the artists, requesting a portrait. Adaptations for...

This teaching pack will introduce students to Ignatius Sancho in his own words through a selection of his letters and invite students to offer a variety of creative responses to Sancho's life, work, and unique voice. Students will work...

In these activities, learners will consider Ted Hughes as a poet and a person, as well as some of the literary and personal influences on his writing. They will explore some of his poems in the draft and published form, exploring the...

Lesson plan designed for tenth graders. Students practice writing letters of recommendation after examining some examples. Students also work on revising the sentence structure of their letters. Includes student handouts and formative...

The students will learn how to form a proper letter. They will be able to remove key ideas/details from a text and apply it to their writing. They will also be able to incorporate transition and descriptive words into their writing.

After reading the picture book When Pigasso Met Mootisse by Nina Laden, students will research an artist with a unique style. Students will partner with another student who's artist has a different style. Students will pretend their two...

A classroom activity/lesson plan for beginning the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Includes web links, a bibliography, and other lessons on the novel. From March 16, 2007.

In this lesson, the poem "Smart" from Where the Sidewalk Ends, by Shel Silverstein, is used as the mentor text. Students will write a map of the poem and then analyze it to discover what happened when trades with money were made and...

Contains plans for a lesson that teaches students the letter-sound relationship for the short /u/ sound using the book "Umbrella" by Taro Yashima. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan contains links to sites...

This lesson focuses on the verb expansion rule which provides a formula that covers every predicate verb possibility in the English language. The formula is T + (M) + (have + en) + (be + ing) + (be + en) + MV. The lesson explains all of...

At the beginning of the school year, students respond to a teacher-generated questionnaire in personal letter format. As a diagnostic tool, letter writing can reveal strengths and weaknesses in composition skills, organization, sentence...

For this lesson, SuperHero ABC, a book written by Bob McLeod, and Meanwhile, a book by Jules Feiffer, are used as mentor texts. Students will work in groups and create lists of unique superhero powers that start with different letters of...

Write a letter using the informal letter format to someone.

In this lesson, students will engage in writing activities as extensions to Lois Ehlert's book, Mole's Hill. Students will generate soluntions to conflicts in the story, generate ideas for writing letters, write an interactive letter to...

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...

Through a shared reading of the familiar text, "The Gingerbread Man," students can learn to sound out familiar words. You will find step-by-step instructions as well as supplemental materials.

Learn about the Thomas Jefferson Papers, a collection of more than 27,000 original documents from the life of Thomas Jefferson. Includes a portrait, a timeline and an overview of the collection. Click on "browse by series" to view the...

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 learners, and plenty of information on Diego Rivera.

A voice of dissent prior to the American Revolution, John Dickenson, a Philadelphia lawyer, was active in protesting British policies. His writings, entitled Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer, were published in newspapers in 1767 and 1768.