Letter To A Soldier

Creative Communicator

Overview

Students will review parts of a friendly letter to type a letter to a soldier.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

Understand the parts of a friendly letter.
Be able to create a letter to mail to a soldier.
Be able to share a letter with a peer to peer edit.
Be able to create a final copy to mail.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary Words:

Heading: The heading of a letter includes the address and the date.
Greeting: The greeting of a letter usually starts with 'Dear' and is followed by the person's name.
Body: The body is the main text of your letter.
Closing: The closing is a short, capitalized expression followed by a comma.
Signature: A signature in a letter is signing your name directly below the closing.
Postscript: A postscript otherwise known as P.S is to add a note at the end of a letter.

Quizlet - 5 parts of a friendly letter flashcards

Pre-planning

To prepare for this lesson:

Go to Operation Gratitude or a Million Thanks to obtain directions on who and how you can mail to troops.
Decide what book/video to use if you so choose.
- Don't Forget, God Bless Our Troops by Jill Biden
- My Military Mom, Claudia Harrington
- H is for Honor: A Military Family Alphabet, by Devin Scillian, illustrated by Victor Juhasz
Watch the video on how to write a friendly letter.
Explore ABCYS's friendly letter maker and test out sample letter.

Accommodations

See the Accommodations Page and Charts on the 21things4students website in the Teacher Resources.

Steps

Directions for this activity:

This is a great activity for Veterans’ or Memorial Day, or the holiday season.

The teacher will read one of the stories in the pre-planning section, or pick a story about the military to read or show to the class.
Discuss writing a friendly letter.
Have the students watch the video on how to write a friendly letter
The teacher will brainstorm ideas that students could write to the military about.
If time applicable, have them write a rough draft. Proof the rough draft for any errors.
Have the students go to ABCYAs Friendly Letter Maker website to type out their letters.

Assessment Options

Different options for assessing the students:

Observations
Check for understanding
Sample rubric

MITECS COMPETENCIES & ISTE STANDARDS

MITECS: Michigan adopted the "ISTE Standards for Students" called MITECS (Michigan Integrated Technology Competencies for Students) in 2018.

Creative Communicator
6a. Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired objectives of their creation or communication.
6b. Students create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations.
6d. Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.