Carita Walker Brent RaineyECED 4300-BDr. Tonja Root

Spring 2011

4th GradeCourtesy Letters

Courtesy Letters Carita Walker Form of Writing: Courtesy Letters Stage of Writing: PrewritingELA4W1 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

a. Selects a focus, an organizational structure, and a point of view based on purpose, genre expectations, audience, length, and format requirements.

PLO: Students will create a prewrite by completing a graphic organizer for a courtesy letter.

What?A letter that is responsive and shows gratitude

towards an act of kindness or generosity. Who?

A kind or generous individual worthy of thanks.

When?A courtesy letter is traditionally written when an

individual receives something and would love to express their gratitude.

Courtesy Letters

A form of writing that assists a writer in selecting a topic, verify a purpose, consider an audience, and get ready to write.

Complete Graphic Organizer

Prewriting

Graphic Organizer

506 Hollywood Drive

Atlanta, Ga. 30337

April 1, 2011

Dear Aunt Jan,

Thank you so much for returning the purple polo shirt

that I left on the bed in the guest room at your house when I ran

out of the house to catch my ride. I forgot the shirt because I was

in such a big hurry to catch my ride and I was not packed when

she arrived. I did not want her to leave me so I rushed and left it

laying on the bed. I felt very excited and happy when I opened

the box and found my purple polo shirt. You know I cannot live

without it! Thank you so much!

Your niece,

Carita Walker

Guthrie, J. (2003, May 18). Letter Writing: The Lost Art - An Educator's Reference Desk Lesson Plan. The Educator's Reference Desk: Resource Guides. Retrieved March 29, 2011, from http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons

Walker, C (2011, April 1) A Task For Courtesy Letter Writing. Created April 1, 2011 at Valdosta State University.

Formal Letter Format. (n.d.). Creative Writing: Topics, Tips & Guidelines. Retrieved April 6, 2011, from http://www.creativewriting-prompts.com/formal-letter-format.html

Citations

Practice Activity• Your task is to write a letter to friend,

real or imaginary, thanking them for coming to your birthday party.

Complete your graphic organizerName: _______________________ Date: _______________________

Directions: Friendly Letter Organization: Students fill the circles on the organizer to identify the parts of the letter before they brainstorm.

(H) represents the heading of the letter, (G) represents the greeting, (O) represents the letter opening and is the first paragraph, (T) represents the topic, (B) represents the body of the letter,(W) represents the part of the letter where students wrap up their letter,(C) represents the closing, and (S) is where the children need to sign their letter.

Assessment Activity

Courtesy Letters Brent Rainey Form of Writing: Courtesy Letters Stage of Writing: DraftingELA4W1 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 draft a courtesy letter with information gathered in a graphic organizer created at an earlier date.

Courtesy Letters Form of Writing: Courtesy Letter

The drafting of a courtesy letter must always include a heading of the letter, a greeting, a letter opening, a topic, the body of the letter, a wrap up of the letter, the closing of the letter, and a place for the composer of the letter to sign their letter.

Stage of Writing: Drafting This is a rough draft. It does not need to be a work of

perfection. It can be sloppy and a culmination of all of your ideas thrown together. The idea is to transform your graphically organized thoughts into thoughts in the form of a letter.

May 5, 2008 Dear Mrs. Stewart,

I can't thank you enough for all you've done to help Jenny meet the challenges of sixth grade. You have been so patient and understanding as you've guided our daughter through the tough transition from grade school to middle school. You never gave up on her, whether it was math-related stubbornness or friend-related drama!

Jenny sees you as a real role model, and we can see why. Your approach is the perfect mix of firmness and understanding.

As the school year wraps up, I feel confident that Jenny is ready to face the future in seventh grade—both socially and academically—thanks largely to your efforts.

Sincerely, Gym Nasium

Citations Thank You To Teacher. (2008). Thank You Letter

Examples. Retrieved April 1, 2011 from http://www.thankyouletter.ws/thank_you_to_teacher.php

Practice Activity The students and I will create a courtesy letter

together using a randomly selected heading, greeting, letter opening, topic, body of the letter, wrap up of the letter, closing of the letter, and finally we will end the letter by allowing the composer (a random student in class) of the letter to sign the letter.

The task is to create a draft using the information collected on a previously made courtesy letter graphic organizer from the prewriting stage.

Assessment Activity