1. Amber Gaskins and Kristin Rozar ECED 4300 C Dr. Tonja Root Fall 2009 5 th Grade Pen Pal Letters

2. Kristin Rozar ECED 4300 C Dr. Tonja Root Fall 2009 5 th Grade Pen Pal Letter Prewriting Stage

3. GPS ELA5W2: The student demonstrates competence in a variety of genres. The student produces informational writing that: c. creates an organizing structure appropriate to a specific purpose, audience, and context. PLO Students will complete a Pen Pal graphic organizer.

4. Form of Writing: Pen Pal Letters Not as formal as other letters. Usually hand written and sent in the mail. The writer: - shares information about his/her life, such as interests, age, family, etc. –asks questions to learn more about the person receiving the letter.

5. Stage of Writing: Prewriting First stage of the Writing Process Most important! Writer establishes the genre, audience, and topic. Writer must brainstorm and gather the information needed Graphic organizers -great tool to use when brainstorming -helps organize the information found about the topic. -all ideas should be written in short phrases and single words, not complete sentences.

6. Graphic Organizer: Pen Pal Letters

7. Pen Pal Letter Example January 31, 2006 Dear Pen Pal, My name is Teresa and I live in Mt. Shasta, California. I am a girl and I am twelve years old. I live in a house with my mother and two sisters, ages 6 and 2. I go to Sisson Elementary School and I am in 7th grade. My favorite part about school is our reading. I love to read especially books about horses. I like to play sports like soccer and tennis. When I grow up I want to be a teacher. What is it like in your town? What do you do for fun? Please tell me about yourself. Do you have access to e-mail? I hope to hear from you soon. Sincerely, Teresa B. Happy

8. APA Citations (2007). Pen Pal Letter Organizer. Retrieved October 22, 2009, from Dr. Root’s Web site: www.valdosta.edu/~troot/PublishedPeices/poetry _&_correspondence_f_07.htm www.valdosta.edu/~troot/PublishedPeices/poetry Project #1: Make a connection:Write a letter to a new pen-pal in Uganda: Short Sample Letter. Retrieved October 22, 2009, from Global Education Project Web site: http://clubs.ca4h.org/siskiyou/strawberryvalley/ Uganda_penpal/Project1.htm

9. How this model can be used This model can be used when teaching elementary age students to write pen pal letters of their own. It gives them ideas on what to write about and how to organize their letter.

10. Practice Activity We will be writing a pen pal letter to a little girl in Switzerland named Emile. Before we can write our class letter, we need to decide what information we are going to put in it. We will be using a graphic organizer to decide what information should go in our pen pal letter. Make sure to raise your hand if you have an idea. Please do not yell out or talk while someone else is sharing their ideas.

11. Assessment Activity Students will complete a graphic organizer, like the one completed as a class, individually. Remember to only use short phrases and single words, no complete sentences. The information on the graphic organizer should be an outline of what they want to include in their pen pal letter.

12. Amber Gaskins ECED 4300 C Dr. Tonja Root Fall 2009 5 th grade Pen Pal Letter Drafting Stage

13. 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 text of a length appropriate to address the topic or tell the story. PLO The students will complete a draft of a pen pal letter using their prewriting graphic organizer.

14. Form of Writing: Pen Pal Letters Most pen pal letters are handwritten and sent through the mail Used to share information with someone Write about interests, hobbies, family, etc Usually asks questions to find out about the recipient

15. Stage of Writing: Drafting Second stage of the writing process Uses graphic organizer as a guide to complete sentences and ideas Mechanics are not important during this stage Label “sloppy copy” or “rough draft”

16. Drafting Graphic Organizer Pen Pal’s Address ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ Greeting and name ________________ ____ Body of letter __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ Closing and signature________________

17. APA Citation: Example and Graphic Organizer Harambee. Retrieved October 25, 2009. Kambi Primary School Website. http://www.kambiprimaryschool.net/penpals.h tm http://www.kambiprimaryschool.net/penpals.h tm (2009). Pen Pal Letter Organizer. Retrieved October 21, 2009. Dr. Root’s Website, http://coefaculty.valdosta.edu/troot/Publishe dPieces/poetry_&_correspondence_f_07.htm http://coefaculty.valdosta.edu/troot/Publishe dPieces/poetry_&_correspondence_f_07.htm

18. PenPalPenPal ExamPleExamPle

19. Practice Activity We will use our graphic organizer from the prewriting stage to complete a pen pal draft. Discuss with students the parts of a pen pal letter. (Ex. Address, greeting, body, closing and signature) Have a drafting organizer displayed on the board or Smart Board. Allow students to help you develop the letter.

20. Assessment Activity Have students choose a pen pal to write their letter to. This can be a friend, cousin, etc. Each student will develop their own pen pal drafting graphic organizer using the information they used during prewriting. Mechanics will be stressed as having little importance during this process. Students should only focus on getting their content down. Follow the given example and the practice activity we created as a group.