Miss Quanrud 3rd Grade Writing
November 1, 2013
Craft of Writing: Letter format with an introduction on persuasion.
Common Core Standards:
[Link]-Literacy.W.3.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a
topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
Continuum Goals:
Understand that a friendly letter has parts
Understand a friendly letter has a more formal kind of communication between
people.
Understand that the form of written communication is related to its purpose.
Objectives:
Students will use the letters from Dear Mr. Blueberry, and identify the parts of a
letter with 100% accuracy.
Students will write their own letters, including the five parts of a letter, to inform
another person of their opinion in a specific matter.
Materials:
A copy of James, S. (1991). Dear Mr. blueberry. (Vol. 1). London: Walker Books.
A copy of Klise, K. (1999). Regarding the fountain: a tail in letters, of liars and leaks.
(Vol. 1). New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
A copy of Teague, M. (2002). Dear [Link]: letters from obedience school . New
York: Scholastic Inc.
Whiteboard
Dry Erase Makers
Letters to the students on day 1 and day 5
Crayola Markers
Post-it Chart paper
Copies of the letters in Dear Mr. Blueberry (one of the eleven for each student)
Post-its
Sharpie
Writing Journals
Plain White paper finalized letters to the principal
Basket
Choosing the Text:
All three-mentor text are effective to this unit of study due to the fact that all three
authors wrote their text in letter format. Students are able to physically see that not all
writing is essay format. The reason I picked Dear Mr. Blueberry to start the lesson is
because it is the one text that I believe hits the focus of the study and is developmentally
appropriate when first introducing a new form of writing. Throughout the unit I add more
complex letters where students have the opportunity to pick out the parts of a letter. By
choosing books such as Dear Mrs. Larue students have a book that is more complex, but
Miss Quanrud 3rd Grade Writing
November 1, 2013
still is within their ZPD to understand the content. The third book, Regarding the
Fountain is a letter format book that is above the students ZPD meaning students would
need my support with complex vocab and format. For this reason though is exactly why I
choose this book to read aloud to my students providing them a chance to interact with a
book where they would need support every now and then.
The week before starting the unit:
During Read Aloud time I will introduce students to their new book titled Regarding the
Fountain by Kate Klise. As we dig into Kate Klise book I will ask students
How is this book formatted?
How is it different from the other books I have read aloud to you?
This will be an opportunity for students to explore and engage themselves in letter format
writing before we dive into the unit. (Regarding the Fountain will be the read aloud I
read to my students for the duration of the this particular unit.)
Day 1: Monday
While students are gone to recess I will write the class a letter on the white board. (See
attached sheet for what the letter will say). The letter will include a P.S. stating how I
would like them to respond. Students will write their responses within their writing
journals, which I can review and range students schema on letter format writing. Once all
students are done writing their response they will be called to the reading corner where I
will model my own letter writing, such as why I write letters, who I write letters too etc.
This will be an opportunity to introduce the book we will be reading titled Dear Mr.
Blueberry: A young girl and her teacher correspond about the whale she has discovered
in her pond. After reading about 4-5 pages, ask the students if they have noticed what
each of these letters all have in common. Students stated commonalities will be written
on the whiteboard. Continue reading the text and have students keep an eye out for any
other commonalities within the letters.
Day 2: Five Components within a letter: Tuesday
Students and I will reflect on the list we created from the previous day. Have students
discuss their findings and why they are important when writing a letter to someone.
Scaffold students to understanding the five parts of writing a letter: heading, greeting,
body, and closing- signature. These words should be transferred to chart paper. After
discussing the need for each part and their importance, students will come up with a label
for their chart paper and post it at the front of the room allowing all students a visual
resource. At this point I will model one of my own letters I have written, pointing out to
students how I was able to include all five parts of a letter.
Day 3: Wednesday
When students come back from recess they will find a letter on their desk. Each student
will be given one of the eleven letters found in Dear Mr. Blueberry. In their writing
journals students will be asked to identify the five parts found in their letter and provide
evidence of their findings. On their desk students will also have a yellow post-it note with
Miss Quanrud 3rd Grade Writing
November 1, 2013
one of their classmates name written on it. When students are done identifying the parts
of their letter and have provided the proper evidence, they will get with their partner
(students name on their post-it) and discuss their findings together. This will also be an
opportunity for students to not erase, but add notes to their writing journals based on the
conversation carried with their classmate.
Day 4:Thursday
When students come back from recess they will make their way to the reading corner. At
this time I will introduce the book Dear Mrs. LaRue by Mark Teague. Throughout
various points of the book I will stop and ask students: What is the heading of this letter?
How did Ike greet Mrs. LaRue? Etc. these will be great talking points where I can have
students discuss in partners and than bring it back as a whole class. At the end of the
book ask students:
Who wrote all the letters in this book? (Wait time)
What do you think Mrs. LaRue is thinking? (Wait time)
Inform students that as a class we will be writing a letter together as the role of Mrs.
LaRue. We will be sending a letter to our Dog, Ike, who is at obedient school. I will start
the letter for the students, but asking them what I need to include first. After writing my
heading, ask what is the next step I should include? Once I complete the heading and
greeting, students will have the opportunity to brainstorm ideas about what our body of
our letter should include. Students will be called on and asked to write the sentences
within the body of our letter (five sentences five students). Lastly, students will discuss
how they will close their letter to their dog, Ike. At this time one student will come up
and write the closing, and one student will be asked to sign the signature of Mrs. LaRue.
As a class we will read our letter out loud through choral reading.
Day 5: Friday
While students are gone to recess I will write the class a letter on the white board. (See
attached sheet for what the letter will say). The students job will be to individually write
a letter to their principal discussing why they agree or disagree with the opportunity for
an extra fifteen-minute recess. Students will be graded on the following:
The five parts of a letter (format)
Conventions
Sentence Fluency
Voice
During this activity students will be handed a self-assessment chart providing them
the opportunity to view their progress throughout this unit. See attached student
progress check.
Students will use this class period to brainstorm their ideas, draft out their ideas and focus
on including all five parts of a letter in their own letter.
Day 6: Monday
Students will have the opportunity to revise their letters, share their letters with a
classmate, make any changes that they see applicable, and finalize their letters. At the end
of the class period students will have place their letters in a basket provided by myself
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November 1, 2013
and as a class walk down to the principals office and personally deliver the letters. (This
will be arranged with the principal ahead of time to make sure he or she is in their office
when the students deliver their letters.)
Day 1 Letter:
Dear writers,
Have you ever received a letter in the mail? Who was it from? How did it make you
feel when you peaked into your mailbox than whipped it open noticing the letter was
addressed to you?
Have you ever written a letter to someone? Why did you choose to write them a
letter instead of just calling/texting them?
Today we are going to start our writing unit focusing on the craft of writing a letter.
Enjoy!
Sincerely,
Your Teacher,
Miss Quanrud
P.S. Please respond to my letter in your writing journals touching on each question asked.
Day 5 Letter:
Dear writers,
Mr. Lenz our principal has informed me that the school is considering the
opportunity to give you students an extra recess in the afternoons. This would be a
fifteen-minute recess occurring between our daily 5 and science/social study periods. As
this decision is based on your time as students here at Fillmore Central, I believe it is
important that you all have the opportunity to voice your opinion on the matter. To do so
in a professional manner each of you will brainstorm ideas of why you agree or disagree
with this consideration through a formatted letter to Mr. Lenz.
When writing your letter keep in mind: the five parts of a letter, sentence fluency, the
voice of your letter, and the conventions throughout.
Get your engines started and write away!
Sincerely,
Your Teacher,
Miss Quanrud
Student checklist:
Did I use the five parts of a letter? Yes No
Does my letter sound like me (have voice)? Yes No
Did I state my opinion with respect to the school? Yes No
Did I provide support for my opinion? Yes No
Miss Quanrud 3rd Grade Writing
November 1, 2013
Differentiation:
Throughout my unit there will be a multitude of opportunities to differentiate my students
learning. One example is during the students final assessment. Below you will find
tiered assignments, which meets the needs of my struggling learners, average learners,
and my more advanced learners.
Tier One: Tier Two: Tier Three:
Students will be asked to
write a letter to their
principal including only the
five parts of a letter.
Students will not have to
worry about voice, sentence
fluency, etc.
Students will write a letter
to their principle and will be
asked to complete the whole
checklist and provide
supporting details to their
opinion on the matter.
Students will write a letter
to their principal, but will
have had the opportunity to
research their opinion to
support their reasoning with
research evidence.