Pen Pals: Writing Informal Letters about Books

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 4

 Writing Informal Letters about Books

By: Mr.  Abualkibash

Learning Objective

At the end of the lesson, you will be able to write an informal letter to a friend about a book you have recently read.

Introduce the objective of the lesson to the students and explain what they will be able to achieve by the end of the lesson.

What do you already know about informal letter writing?

What is an Informal Letter?

An informal letter is a type of personal letter that is written to someone you know well, like a friend or family member.

Explain to the students what an informal letter is and give examples of when and why someone might write one.

Parts of an Informal Letter

The parts of an informal letter include a greeting, introduction, body, and closing.

Describe the different parts of an informal letter and emphasize the importance of each part.

Greeting

The greeting is the opening of the letter and should be friendly and personal.

Provide examples of different ways to start an informal letter and explain how to choose an appropriate greeting.

Introduction

The introduction should introduce the topic of the letter and provide background information.

Explain how to write an introduction that sets up the reader for the rest of the letter.

Body

The body of the letter should provide details and personal thoughts about the book.

Give examples of what to include in the body of the letter and encourage students to write about what they liked or didn't like about the book.

Closing

The closing should be a friendly and personal message that ends the letter.

Provide examples of different ways to end an informal letter and explain how to choose an appropriate closing.

Formatting

Informal letters should be written in paragraphs and include proper punctuation and capitalization.

Emphasize the importance of good formatting and provide examples of how to format an informal letter.

Brainstorming

Before writing the letter, it's important to brainstorm ideas and organize them into an outline.

Explain how to brainstorm and provide a template for students to use to organize their ideas.

Drafting

When drafting the letter, it's important to follow the outline and focus on including personal thoughts and details.

Provide time for students to work on drafting their letters and offer guidance and support as needed.

Revising

After drafting the letter, it's important to revise for grammar, spelling, and content.

Explain the importance of revising and provide editing checklists for students to use.

Editing

After revising, it's important to edit the letter for formatting and appearance.

Explain the importance of good formatting and provide examples of how to format an informal letter.

Sharing

After editing, students can share their letters with a partner or the class.

Provide time for students to share their letters and encourage positive feedback and discussion.

Practice

To practice informal letter writing further, students can write letters to pen pals or family members.

Encourage students to continue practicing their letter writing skills outside of the classroom.

Review

To review what we learned today, let's go over the parts of an informal letter and brainstorm a topic to write about.

Use this slide to summarize the lesson and check for understanding.

Assessment

For assessment, students will write an informal letter to a friend about a book they have recently read.

Assign the assessment task and provide clear instructions and expectations.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have learned how to write an informal letter to a friend about a book you have recently read.

Wrap up the lesson and provide positive reinforcement for the students' hard work.

Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.

Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson. With this they can indicate their own learning efficiency of this lesson.

Write down 2 things you want to know more about.

Here, students enter two things they would like to know more about. This not only increases involvement, but also gives them more ownership.

Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.

The students indicate here (in question form) with which part of the material they still have difficulty. For the teacher, this not only provides insight into the extent to which the students understand/master the material, but also a good starting point for the next lesson.