Kelli Harrell & Krista Hester ECED 4300 A Dr. Tonja Root Spring th Grade Pen Pal Letters

Kelli Harrell ECED 4300 A Dr. Tonja Root Spring th Grade Pen Pal Letters Prewriting Stage

GPS: ELA5W2 The student demonstrates competence in a variety of genres. The student produces informational writing (e.g., report, procedures, correspondence) that: c. Creates an organizing structure appropriate to a specific purpose, audience, and context. PLO: Students will complete a graphic organizer.

Form of Writing: Pen Pal Letters Most pen pal letters are hand written and sent through the mail. The writer shares information about themselves, such as information about his/her family, interests, where they are from, etc. Pen pal letters are less formal than business letters. The writer may also ask questions to whom he or she is writing in order to find out more about the person.

Stage of Writing: Prewriting Prewriting is the first stage of the writing process. This is otherwise known as the “getting ready to write” stage. The writer must think of a topic by using strategies such as brainstorming and completing graphic organizers. The graphic organizers are a way to arrange ideas and thoughts that the writer has about the topic. Ideas should not be written in complete sentences, but it words or phrases.

Prewriting Graphic Organizer

Here is an example of what your letter might say. Dear New Pen Pal, My name is George Washington and I am in the 5th grade at Greenbelt Elementary School. I am a 10 year old boy and my favorite book of all-time is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling. I expect you know a lot about that book since the author is from England. Do you like that book? It is my favorite because the challenges that Harry has to go through are really exciting and of course the ending has that twist you wouldn’t have expected. I won’t tell you what it is just in case you haven’t read the book yet. Do you have a favorite book? I live in Greenbelt, Maryland with my family. There’s just my mom, dad, me, and my sister Kelly. Kelly is only six so living with her drives me crazy. She’s always following me around. Do you have any brother’s or sisters? In Greenbelt they have a swimming pool and basketball courts, and tons of playgrounds. During the summer I mostly just go to the pool and hang out with friends. What do you do when your not in school? Well, I hope to hear from you soon! I’m really excited to have someone to write to that lives in another country. You gotta tell me all about it! Sincerely, George P.S. Oh yeah, I almost forgot! My address is George Washington 102 Wallaby Way Greenbelt, MD USA

APA Citations (2007). Pen pal letter organizer. Retrieved April 8, 2008, from Dr. Root’s website: eces/poetry_&_correspondence_f_07.htm Get A Pen Pal From Alaska! Retrieved April 8, 2008, from Ace Reading Club Web site: df

Ways to Use the Example This example is an appropriate model of a pen pal letter for elementary students. It contains information about where the student is from, information about his family, his interests, and also includes questions he would like to ask his pen pal. This is a good model for students to use when writing their own pen pal letters.

Practice Activity We will be writing to our pen pal in Hawaii named Kalea. As a class, we will be completing a graphic organizer for writing a pen pal letter. We will use the Think Aloud method to complete the graphic organizer using ideas and thoughts from the class.

Assessment Activity The students will complete all sections of their own graphic organizer using only words or phrases. Complete sentences should not be used. Students will use ideas and thoughts that they will include in their pen pal letter.

Krista Hester ECED 4300 A Dr. Tonja Root Spring th Grade Pen Pal Letters Drafting

GPS: ELA5W1 The student produces writing that establishes an appropriate organizational structure, sets a context and engages the reader, maintains a coherent focus throughout, and signals a satisfying closure. The student b. Writes texts of a length appropriate to address the topic or tell the story. PLO: Students will complete a draft of a pen pal letter using their graphic organizer.

Form of Writing: Pen Pal Letters Most pen pal letters are hand written and sent through the mail. The writer shares information about themselves, such as information about his/her family, interests, where they are from, etc. Pen pal letters are less formal than business letters. The writer may also ask questions to whom he or she is writing in order to find out more about the person.

Stage of Writing: Drafting Drafting is the second stage of the writing process. Drafting is where the writer uses the graphic organizer to complete to form ideas into complete sentences. Spelling and neatness are not important at this point. Skip lines for editing and revising. Label this copy “rough draft.”

Drafting Graphic Organizer

APA Citation Walz, Andrew. HARAMBEE. Retrieved April 9, 2008, from Kambi Primary School Web site: s.htm

Ways to Use the Example This example is an appropriate model of a pen pal letter for elementary students. This is a good model for students to use when writing their own pen pal letters.

Practice Activity We will be using our graphic organizer from prewriting to form the draft of our pen pal letter to Kalea. Discuss the different parts of a pen pal letter, such as address, greeting, body, and closure. Teacher will call on students at random to help fill in the drafting graphic organizer.

Assessment Activity Students will complete their own draft of a pen pal letter using the graphic organizer. The content is the most important part; grammar and punctuation are not. They will write their own letter modeled after the example given.