LESSON ONE: Letters of Inquiry

 

LESSON DESCRIPTION

Students write memos or letters explaining a career choice and answer reflective questions.

 

GRADE-LEVEL EXPECTATIONS

W2F  In composing text, use a variety of sentence structures and cohesive devices.

W3E  Compose texts for various audiences and purposes, selecting and applying appropriate format, style, tone and   point of view.

 

LESSON MATERIALS

§         Sources of literature

 

§         Supplies

 

§         Handouts provided

o        Letter Template

o        Sample Parent Letter One

o        Sample Parent Letter Two

o        Sample Student Letters

 

§         Words to know

o        cohesive devices

o        style

o        tone

o        point of view

 

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT                    Assessment                    Scoring Guide

Students write a letter of inquiry to the Washington D.C. Chamber of Commerce. Scoring Guide provided

 

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

 

  1. Discuss travel with students.  Students share stories about vacations they have taken. Students explain the necessary planning for taking a vacation.

 

Questions

    for

Students

Why do people ask questions?

What is the difference between formal and informal questions?

How and why are the formats of formal and informal questions different?

What are some formal ways to ask questions, and why is this sometimes necessary?

 

Idea

Have students research on the internet actual addresses and possible points of interest for their trips.

 

  1. Demonstrate format, style, tone, and point of view using two sample letters:

§         parent letter requesting allowance to travel

§         letter to students informing them of upcoming field trip

 

Questions

 for

Students

What role do the following serve in letters?

  • format
  • style
  • tone
  • point of view

 

Idea

 This lesson my be modified by creating different sample letters that are tailored to the needs of the class.

 

  1. Divide students into groups. Students read three letters of inquiry regarding visiting a certain place in Washington D.C. independently, students rank letters in order of best writing, second best, and least appealing.  Groups explain their reasoning for the ranking of each letter.

 

  1. Preview sentence structure with students. Use a lesson from writing/grammar text. Complete a sentence combining activity with students in class.