Sarah Shirley

February 18, 2016

Mushy Love Letters (Tales of Brief Lovers)

Objectives:
110.20B (20 A, B, 28)
(20) Writing/Conventions of Language/Handwriting. Students write legibly and use appropriate capitalization
and punctuation conventions in their compositions. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with
greater complexity. Students are expected to:
(A) use conventions of capitalization; and
(B) use correct punctuation marks,
(28) Listening and Speaking/Teamwork. Students work productively with others in teams. Students will
continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity.

Materials: Copies of the Tales of Brief Lovers, large butcher paper or poster board, markers, phones.
Duration: 45 minutes (10 minutes R&R, 5 minutes instructions, 20 minutes writing, 10 minutes sharing)
Focus/Anticipatory Set:
Artwork on screen.

Relevancy:
Students will analyze their take on love and what we can learn from these examples.

Explanation/Teaching Strategies & Modeling:

Today you will write a mushy love letter as if you were writing to one of the characters we read about
yesterday. However, you will be writing from their lovers perspective.
For example Jon, you will write to Eurydice as if you were Orpheus.
These letters must be over the top mushy (but appropriate) and must include any 4 of the 8 vocabulary
words, a simile or metaphor, and must be written in alliteration.

Teaching: Checking for Understanding

Students will turn to their elbow buddies and relay instructions to them. Students will also use their
phones to check instructions periodically.

Guided Practice:
As a whole group, students will recap the stories of Orpheus and Euridyce, Baucis and Philemon, and Pyramus
and Thisbe that we read and discussed the day before. Afterwards, students will be asked to write overly mushy
and sappy love letters from the perspective of one of the mythical (assigned) characters. They must include:
1. alliteration
2. 4 vocabulary words

3. 1 simile or a metaphor
Requirements will be listed on the board. Students will be asked to take a picture of the instructions to have
with them as they complete the project. Students will be broken into prearranged groups of 3 and assigned a
character to which they must write a love letter to their lover from the perspective of the other. Example:
Christian, Jackson, and Jon will write a mushy love letter as Pyramus TO Thisbe; Mia, Christelle, and Camille
will write a mushy love letter as Thisbe TO Pyramus. After students have constructed their letters, they will
share them with the class.

Closure:
Do you see how myths can help you understand or help you determine your take on things like love?
What are your thoughts on it?