If you've ever received bad service or disagreed with a company's decision, writing a letter of complaint might be a good skill to have. Review the format of a letter, author's purpose, and other aspects of persuasive writing with an activity about letters of complaint.

Concepts

formatting a letter, parts of a letter, persuasive letters, reading comprehension, informational texts, consumer skills

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Include in your unit about persuasive writing or the different audiences for a letter
• After learners finish the activity, encourage them to write a letter of complaint to a company they have patronized, using the same parameters and format as the example; if they send the letters, have them share any replies they receive

Classroom Considerations

• Go over the author's word choice, noting whether the angry tone is appropriate in this situation
• Some of the wording and vocabulary is a bit advanced for fourth graders; feel free to use the activity with older learners as well

Pros

• Focuses on writing skills that are versatile to other units and projects
• Topic and concept will interest even your most reluctant young writers
• Provides an answer key for straightforward assessment

Cons

• None

Common Core

RI.4.1 RI.4.2 RI.4.8 W.4.1.a W.4.2.a L.4.1.a