FSU Lesson Plan Format

Lesson Plan: Jessica Engstrom

Ferris State School of Education

Lesson Plan Format
Name of Lesson: Letter Writing Date: December 2, 2020
Course: ELA-Writing Grade level: 4th grade
Materials:

 Chart paper with sample friendly letter

written on it
 Document camera
Time/Period: 60 minutes  Sample letter
 Friendly letters, cut into sections
(greeting, body, signature, etc.)
 Highlighters

Standards:
(List the state or national standards that you are using in this lesson, you should only use one set of standards)
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS),

Specific Standard(s):
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are
defined in standards 1-3 above.)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.1
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when
writing or speaking.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.2
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation,
and spelling when writing.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.3
Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
Objectives: (“I can” statements):
(Write the objectives in the ABCD format but instead of using the “The student will ….“ use the “I can….”
statement to start your lesson.)
Resource 1: Resource 2
 I can identify components of friendly letter
 I can work cooperatively in groups
 I can write a friendly letter with appropriate components

Formative Assessment:
(Examples: thumbs up/down, exit ticket, one-minute papers, show of hands, etc. a formative assessment is a
quick assessment that happens during the lesson. Attach supportive material if any)
Resource 1: Resource 2

Students will write the five parts of a friendly letter on an exit ticket.
Summative Assessment:
(Examples: unit exams, portfolios, projects, speeches, - an assessment conducted at the very end of the lesson
to assess students – this should be directly related to the lesson objectives. Attach or insert supporting
documentation)
Resource 1: Resource 2

Anticipatory Set:
(Describe how you plan to conduct a warm-up, review of previous day’s lesson, check for understanding of
previous knowledge, or questions you will ask. What are you going to do to get students interested and
connected to the lesson?)
Resource 1: Resource 2 Resource 3
Say: Have you ever received a letter in the mail, snail mail or an email that you would
consider a friendly letter? Turn to a partner and tell that about a time you received a friendly
letter.
 Give students 2-3 minutes to discuss getting a friendly letter.
Say: I was walking around the room and heard about some awesome letters that you
received from grandparents, friends, great Aunt’s and Uncles. Turn to your partner and think
about who you would write a friendly letter to, what would you tell them about?
 Give students 2-3 minutes to discuss.
Say: I am going to give 2 or 3 students a chance to share who they would write a friendly
letter to.
 Call on 2-3 Students to share who they would write their letter to.

Steps in the Lesson:

(This should be written to a degree in which a substitute teacher could read and follow the instructions.
Attach or insert supporting documentation. Include critical thinking questions into the lesson.)
Resources to help design critical thinking questions in lessons: Resource 1: Resource 2
Say: Today, we are going to learn how to write a friendly letter. First, I am going to show you an example of a
friendly letter. We are going look at the different parts of the letter. Since we have been talking about how the
government influences our lives, we are going to look at a letter to the mayor. This one asks the mayor to help
with a problem that a student sees within the community. This is something you can do with your government
representatives.
 Put the example of the friendly letter on the document camera.
Say: As we go through the letter, I am going to highlight the different parts. There are five parts of a
friendly letter:
1. First, we have the heading. The heading is the first thing you see on the letter. It can be the date,
or possibly your address, in case the person you are writing to doesn't know where to send a reply
 letter. I am going to highlight this part in yellow.

2. Next is the greeting. The greeting of a friendly letter always starts with 'Dear' followed by the person's
name to whom you are writing the letter. In the below example, the greeting is 'Dear Jason.' The greeting
is followed by a comma, then a skipped line. I am going to highlight this part in green.
3. Third is the body of the letter. Following your greeting and skipped line, comes the main content of your
friendly letter, known as the body. This section can include several paragraphs, with the first line of each
paragraph indented five spaces to the right. In the body of the friendly letter, you can write about several
things, including important news, recent events, asking for advice, a recent accomplishment, or book or
movie recommendations. These are only a few of the many possible topics. The body often ends with
questions for the recipient of the letter, as well as a request to write back. I am going to highlight this color
in blue.
4. Then we have the closing. You generally end a friendly letter with a closing word or words, following a
skipped line after the end of the last paragraph of your body. There are a wide variety of closing words
you can use to close a friendly letter, such as 'Yours Truly,' 'Best Regards,' 'With Love,' or 'Warmly.' I am
going to highlight this part in pink.
5. The fifth part of a friendly letter is the signature. If you are writing in pen or pencil, you would usually
sign or print your name on the next line following the closing. A typed signature would be appropriate if
you wrote the letter on a computer in your emails or in google docs. I am going to highlight this part in
orange.
Say: Now it is your turn. I am going to give you a copy of a friendly letter and you are going to highlight
and label the different parts. I am going to leave my example up for you to reference.
 Pass out the copy of a friendly letter to all students.
 Give the students 10 minutes to work on the highlighting. They can work in partners.

Say: Let’s review what you highlight. As we review, we are going to create an Anchor Chart together.

 Put the chart paper with the prewritten letter on the board.

Say: Who wants to share what you highlighted for the heading?

Student: The date and address.

Say: Yes, you are right. I am going to highlight that in yellow and label it as heading. What did you
highlight for the greeting?

Student: Dear Mrs. Governor.

Say: Yes! I am going to highlight that in green and label it as a greeting. Your letters may say Dear so and
so or What’s up Bob! The point is the persons name is part of the greeting. The next part is the body.
What did you highlight for the body?

Student: The next two paragraphs.

Say: Yes, that is correct. I am going to highlight mine in blue and label it as the body. What is the next part
and what did you highlight?

Student: The closing and I highlighted “Sincerely”

Say: Correct, I am going to highlighted mine pink. I am also going to label it as closing. There is one more
parts, what did you do next.
Student: Signature. Your name.

Say: Yes, you really understand the parts of the letter. I am going to high light it in orange and label it as
Signature.

Say:. I am going to keep this right here for you to reference when you write a letter. I do have a few
questions for you. What is the purpose of a friendly letter?

Students: To communicate?

Say: It is to communicate. It is a letter you might write to a friend or relative to keep in touch, update them
about your life, or a variety of other reasons. It is also a way to ask questions of people, such as
government officials. You can ask them about different issues and what they are going to do to help fix a
problem.

Say: Why are there specific parts or components in a friendly letter?

Students: So people know whose writing them.

Say: That is one reason. Why would you write the date or the address?

Students: So you know when it was written. So you can write them back?

Say: Yes, that is a reason. It also helps you to know if the information is new or old. We are now going
play a “Seat Swap” game. I am going give you a section of a letter. You will find other students who have
the other four parts of your letter and stand together. When you find your group, assemble your letter.
What does assemble mean?

Students: I don’t know

Say: Assemble means to put together. You are going to assemble your letter and read it together. Next,
work together to think of a response to the letter and construct it, making sure to include each piece.

 Hand out the letter pieces.

 Give the students 20 minutes to find their groups and write their response letter.
 Collect the response letters.

Closure/Wrap up:
(This may be an explicit restatement of the goals of the lesson, a form of independent practice, a chance to
share and talk about what the students learned.)
Resource 1: Resource 2
Say: Today, we went over the different parts of a letter. You can use this format to write to all different
types of people. We have been talking about how different parts of the government influence our lives. It
is our responsibility to ask questions of our government officials. As well end this lesson on how to write
letters, I want you to start thinking about the different ways that our representatives and officials effect our
lives. Start thinking of different questions that you might have for them.

Now I want you to take out a piece of paper and write down the five parts of a letter and turn that into me
as your exit ticket for today.
Extension Activities:
(These are activities that students can be engaged in that could be homework or address a student(s) that
have an extensive interest in the topic. Attach or insert supporting documentation)
Resource 1: Resource 2
  Connect with students with residents at a senior-citizens group exchange friendly letters.
 Write friendly letters to members of the armed services.

Assessment /Modifications or Alternative Ways to Assess Learning for this Lesson.

(This is different from the summative assessment.)
Resource 1: Resource 2

Instead of typing a student could use a voice to text technology to write their response letters.

Differentiation:
How will you differentiate instruction based on the lesson content, processes, product and environment? Use
the resources below to create one way to differentiate instruction based on the lesson plan.)
Resource 1: Resource 2: Resource 3

Differentiation by Content:
(Develop one way to differentiate the content of the lesson. Use the resources to locate options.)
Resource 1: Resource 2

The sample letters are presented visually on the document camera, the teacher talks through the assignment
sharing each part of the letter. This differentiates between visual and auditory learners.

Differentiation by Process:
(Develop one way to differentiate the process in the lesson. Use the resources to locate options.)
Resource 1: Resource 2
Students can use a friendly letter template to help write a response.

Differentiation by Product:
(Develop one way to differentiate the product of the lesson. Use the resources to locate options.)
Resource 1: Resource 2
Students can write the letters on chart paper and share them with the classroom.

Differentiation by Environment:
(Develop one way to differentiate the environment of the lesson. Use the resources to locate options.)
Resource 1: Resource 2

Students can type out there letter instead of handwriting them. They can work around the room.

Technology:
How do plan to use technology in the lesson?
Resource 1: Resource 2
 Document camera to show a sample letter.
Students can use the computer to type their letters.

Reflection/Teacher Notes:
If you conducted the same lesson again – what would you do differently? To be completed after the lesson is
delivered.
Resource 1: Resource 2

Rev. 8/23/2019

Sample Letter to a Mayor

The Honorable Antonio Villaraigosa
Mayor of Los Angeles
14410 Sylvan Street #211
Van Nuys, CA
Dear Mayor Villaraigosa,
I am writing on behalf of myself and my friends at Schoolville Elementary School. We are extremely concerned with the
state the city playground. We understand that the city and state’s finances have resulted in extreme budget cuts, but the
safety of playground has dropped tremendously over the years.
The playground has broken swings and merry go round. The slides are made of metal and burn our legs. The ground is
really hard and has lots of weeds. Our playground is not a safe place for kids to play.
I am aware that you have a lot on your plate as Mayor of Los Angeles, but as student who plays on the playground, I am
asking you to find some way in the budget to help out the playground. I know a number of others students who feel the
same way.
I appreciate all that you do for our city, and I look forward to seeing positive changes. Thank you for listening.
Sincerely yours,
Student Bob

Mrs. Engstrom

123 School Lane

 Schoolville, Mi 41115

December 2, 2020

Dear Mrs. Governor,

I have been studying about emissions from vehicles in my fourth grade classroom. I found out that we do not test for
emissions in Michigan.  Smog from cars can harm the environment by polluting the air and water. Car emissions increase
air toxicity, create haze and contribute to global warming.

What are you doing to help protect our environment? I think we need to have emissions testing in Michigan. I want to
have clean drinking water and enjoy the great lakes for all of my life. What can I do to help protect our environment?

I wish you well. Stay healthy.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Engstrom

Cut this letter into it’s parts.

January 14, 2019

Dear Mayor de Blasio,

My name is Anja and I am a 6th grader. I love animals. I have a dog, have always taken care of my
elementary school’s pets and have had other animals as I was growing up. I used to go on walks
with my dad just to meet and pet new dogs. Have you ever had any pets that you love and care
about? I bet you would hate to see them or any animal hurt and so would I, that is why I am here to
inform you about the amount of pollution in our oceans.

Have you ever eaten plastic or has your house ever been polluted by tons of garbage? Having your
whole life being covered in trash? Your family and friends getting hurt or even killed? I bet you
wouldn’t like it and would definitely want to change it, maybe for someone to help you. This is all I
am asking for, for all the sea creatures that have to live with their home polluted by us. Birds and
other sea animals end up eating plastic thinking that it is food. This can then kill them as a result of
the plastic not digesting and clogging their systems. Sea turtles, sea birds, seals, sea lions, whales
and dolphins are already endangered because of this, and if it goes on, it can lead to many of these
animals becoming extinct. These animals have been around for as long as I have been alive and for
many years before. I would hate for everyone in the future not to have gotten to experience these
amazing creatures, and it would be even worse if we were the ones that didn’t stop it. Don’t you
want to be remembered for saving our earth, Mayor de Blasio? According to Kids Take Action
Against Ocean Plastic, “There are over 5.3 trillion pieces of plastic afloat in the ocean”. Can you
even imagine this number? And try thinking about how we made this happen. Or that this number
is hundreds of billions more than the population of people on our earth. These are horrible thoughts.
If you don’t take action to prevent this, many more animals will become extinct and our world
would never be the same. This is why I am suggesting to ban plastic bags in New York City.

How many times have you seen someone walking around holding groceries in both hands, with two
plastic bags (in each hand) holding a bag’s worth of stuff? People end up using four bags, or more,
for one stop at the store. Plastic bags are not very good quality and are mostly not being recycled.
According to landerfornyc.com, “New Yorkers use 9.37 billion carryout bags per year, the vast
majority of which are not recycled. Plastic bags account for over 1,700 tons of residential garbage
per week in NYC on average.” This is why they are killing so many animals. So many people go
through many plastic bags a day, as a result they are a huge factor for our animals suffering.
Wouldn’t it be better for our earth, easier and more convenient if people used reusable bags? Or got
paper bags instead of plastic when they stopped at a store. The answer is yes, yet almost no one
does this. Everyone, instead uses so many plastic bags for things like:

 Grocery shopping
 Stopping by at the corner store
 Picking up dog poop
 Getting take-out food
 Simple purchases (clothes, buying a gift, etc.)

All of this plastic gets thrown away and never gets reused. Instead, it sits on our earth and in the
oceans for thousands of years. According to theoceancleanup.com, “The Great Pacific Garbage
Patch (GPGP) is the largest of the five offshore plastic accumulation zones in the world’s oceans. It
is located halfway between Hawaii and California.” The GPGP is about 1.6 million square
kilometers. This is about the size of Russia. And five of these makes the pollution much larger.
Imagine being a sea creature and living in this, having everyone, including you, suffer. And
imagine how badly this is polluting our food. If our life goes on like this, and it looks like it will,
we will have many more garbage patches, and they will continue to increase in size. Help save our
earth by banning plastic bags in New York City. Make sure that your kids won’t have to suffer later
on and fight their own battle to fix this.

Sincerely,

Anja D.