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Preparing A Personal Letter

Lesson Plan Information | Lesson Plan Activities | Printable version (including handouts) (PDF)

Standard: Convey Ideas in Writing

Outcomes Students will identify the parts and format of a personal (friendly) letter then write a letter using the appropriate format with proper spelling, capitalization, punctuation and grammar.

Classroom Information

GED Descriptors:
     language arts - reading
Roles:
     Family
Program Type(s)
     ABE, ESOL, Family Literacy, Urban, Rural, Corrections
NRS Learner levels (ABE/GED)
      2, 3, 4
NRS Learner levels (ESOL)
     4, 5
Time frame:
      Two 45 minute sessions

Keywords

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Education > writing

Literature and Language > letters

Standard: Convey Ideas in Writing

Component of Performance	How activity addresses component
Determine the purpose for communicating	Teacher defines a personal letter and presents an example of a finished product; in addition whole class brainstorms reasons for writing a personal letter.






Organize and present information to serve the purpose, context, and audience	Whole class identifies the parts and format of a personal letter.






Pay attention to conventions of English language usage, including grammar, spelling, and sentence structure, to minimize barriers to readers' comprehension	Students determine which information to include in the letter and each prepares a draft using the provided template. Spelling, capitalization, punctuation and grammar will be used correctly.






Seek feedback and revise to enhance the effectiveness of the communication	In pairs, students exchange letters for peer feedback and revision, and then submit the revised letter to the teacher.

Purposeful, Transparent, Building Expertise

Purposeful and Transparent
Students will be able to see the value of letter writing as a means of communication.

Contextual
After writing personal letters, students will relate the skill of letter writing to the similar skills of writing e-mails and business letters.

Building Expertise
Students are building a repertoire of skills to be used in their daily lives, some of which could enhance their employment skills while others enhance their communication to family and friends.

Lesson Designer
Alice Davis
NE ABLE Resource Center
(216) 261-7076
resctr@ix.netcom.com