Amber ChmeleckiMichaelyn Hoffman

Grade Level: 5thPen Pal Letters

ECED 4300 CDr. Tonja Root

Fall 2010

Michaelyn HoffmanPrewriting Stage

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 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 develop a plan for

prewriting by completing a graphic organizer for a pen pal letter using words and phrases.

Form of Writing• Pen pals:–A new friend who you will get

to know through writing letters–People who regularly write to

each other –Long distances

Form of Writing• Pen Pal Letter–Getting to know a friend by learning

about their life and culture•Asking questions•Talking about yourself

–Can live anywhere in the world

Stage of Writing• Prewriting = most important• Form, topic, purpose, audience,

graphic organizer• Brainstorming• Graphic Organizer–Use phrases only–Sequences steps–Gather ideas

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APA Citation of example

• Cleary, B. (1983). Dear mr. henshaw. New York, NY: William Morrow and Company, Inc.

Published ExampleNovember 24

Dear Mr. Henshaw,

Here we go again. Time to answer some more questions.

4. Where do you live?

After the divorce Mom and I moved from Bakersfield to Pacific Grove which is on California’s central coast about twenty miles from the sugar refinery. Mom said all the time she was growing up in California’s Great Central Valley she longed for a few ocean breezes, and now we’ve got them. We’ve got a lot of fog, especially in the morning. There aren’t any crops around here, just golf courses for rich people. We live in a little house, a really little house, that used to be somebody’s summer cottage a long time ago. Now it is what they call a garden cottage.

Sincerely,

Leigh Botts

Page, P. (Artist). (1997). Dear mr. henshaw. [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/dear/deartg.html

Practice activity

• Fill out the graphic organizer as a class to President Obama

Assessment activity•Audience: fellow 5th grader• Students will be partnered with

another student• Fill out the graphic organizer to

exchange with assigned partner

Amber Chmelecki• Drafting Stage• GPS: ELA5W4 The student

consistently uses a writing process to develop, revise, and evaluate writing. The student a. Plans and drafts independently and

resourcefully.

PLOStudents will draft a letter to a pen pal

using a completed graphic organizer as an outline.

Form of writing

• Pen pals:–A new friend who you will get to

know through writing letters–People who regularly write to each

other –Long distances or close by

Form of Writing• Pen Pal Letter–Getting to know a friend by learning

about their life and culture•Asking questions•Talking about yourself

–Can live anywhere in the world

Stage of Writing: Drafting

• Use graphic organizer as outline• Write details into sentences• Focus on content• Correct spelling and neatness not important• Skip lines• Format – Heading, Body, Closure, Signature

Heading:Street _________________________City, State, Zip Code______________Date__________________________GreetingDear_______________________,

Body___________________________________________________________

X___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________X___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________X___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________X___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________X___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Closing & Signature______________________________________________________ 17Cobb, J. (2010). Pen pal letter format. Unpublished graphic

organizer. Valdosta State University, Valdosta, GA.

APA Citation of Model• Nichol, Barbara. (1993). Beethoven

lives upstairs. New York, NY: Orchard Books.

Published ExampleDear Uncle, Another week has passed, but life is no calmer here. I’ve been thinking. If Mr. Beethoven were to leave, surely we could find someone nice to live upstairs. The rooms are large, and Father’s patients always talked about the view of the river. Father used to carry me down to the riverbank on his shoulders, even down the steep part right behind home. I think that of all the places in the house, I like outside best. I can be alone there and get away from all the noise inside. But on this day even the stray dog outside was making his pitiful voice heard.

Yours truly,Christoph

Beethoven lives upstairs. (1993). [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.barbsbooks.com/Biog-Musicians.htm

Practice Activity• Use details from class graphic

organizer to draft a pen pal letter to President Obama.

Assessment Activity• Create your own draft of a pen pal

letter to a classmate from your individual graphic organizer.

References• Kennedy, J. (2010). Pen pal letter graphic organizer.

Unpublished graphic organizer. Valdosta State University, Valdosta, GA. Adapted from Character info blank . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.edhelperclipart.com/clipart/teachers/org-character-blank.pdf

• Page, P. (Artist). (1997). Dear mr. henshaw. [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/dear/deartg.html

• Cobb, J. (2010). Pen pal letter format. Unpublished graphic organizer. Valdosta State University, Valdosta, GA.

• Beethoven lives upstairs. (1993). [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.barbsbooks.com/Biog-Musicians.htm