Writing a postcard

Subject: English

Course: DBH 1

WRITING A POSTCARD ABOUT YOUR HOLIDAY

You are going to write a postcard to a friend telling him/her about your last holidays.
Where did you go? What did you do? Who did you go with? Did you have fun? What
things/places did you visit?
Imagine you went on holidays to a fantastic place!

Write around 100-150 words.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

- To write a postcard.
- To look for information of cities and what activities you can do or visit.
- To learn about the culture of a city: places to visit, typical food…
- To practise the past simple using regular and irregular verbs: affirmative, negative and
interrogative.

PLANNING

1ST DAY STEP 1: Research and practise exercises (Use laptops)

● Read the postcard in this handout and do exercises 1, 2 and 3.
● Decide what city/town you want to write about.

2ND DAY STEP 2: Planner

Make notes to complete the planner with the information you need to write
the postcard.

3RD DAY STEP 3: Write your postcard

Organise the information and start writing your postcard. Follow the
planner and use the PAST SIMPLE to tell your friend what you DID. Use
one affirmative one negative and one interrogative sentence at least.

4TH DAY STEP 4: Decorate your postcard and send it

Write the postcard in a clean piece of paper and decorate it with photos or
drawings. Take a photo of it and send it to your teacher and your
etwinning penpal.
Writing Rubric

CATEGORY 4 EXCELLENT 3 VERY GOOD 2 GOOD 1 FAIR

CONTENT Includes all Includes most Includes some There is not enough
information asked in information. information. information.
the planner

ORGANISATION The postcard is The postcard is There are some The postcard is not
clearly organised in clearly organised in paragraphs but hey organised in
at least 5 paragraphs less than 5 are not organised paragraphs.
and includes a paragraphs. very clearly.
greeting, and closing
phrase following the
planner.

RELEVANCE All information is Most information is Some information is Information is not

relevant and relevant and relevant and relevant or coherent.
coherent. coherent. coherent.
SPELLING There are not There are a few There are several There are a lot of
spelling mistakes. spelling mistakes (1- spelling mistakes (5- spelling mistakes
4) 9) (10+)
GRAMMAR No grammar 2-3 grammar More than 3 More than 6 grammar
ACCURACY mistakes. Sentences mistakes. Sentences grammar mistakes mistakes. Some
are all structured are all structured but less than 6. Most sentences are all
correctly. correctly. sentences are all structured correctly.
structured correctly.

EXAMPLE OF A POSTCARD
Hi Helen!

How are you? I hope you’re well.

Where did you go on holiday? Did you visit your family?

We’re here in New York, it’s fantastic!

There are so many things to see: museums, shops, parks… Helen Gallagher

Yesterday we went to the Statue of Liberty. 6 Westbourne House

We climbed to the top! It was great! You can see a picture of the
Statue of Liberty on the front of this postcard. London

There are lots of tourists here and you can hear people talking SW10 0BW
in many languages. We even met some people from our town!
UK
The other day we went to Central Park, it was beautiful!
The weather was sunny and hot so we enjoyed a lot.
I ate a hot dog which is very typical in New York
and it was really good. We also visited Brooklyn Bridge
and the Empire State Building. I didn’t take a yellow taxi,
but I really want to.

Tomorrow we’re going to go to the Hard Rock Cafe

and Planet Hollywood, I’m very excited!

Wish you were here. Bye for now!

Love,
 Claire

EXERCISE 1: Read the postcard and answer the following questions.

1. Who wrote the postcard?

2. Who is sending the postcard to?
3. Where is Claire now?
4. Where did she go yesterday?
5. What’s she doing tomorrow?
6. What typical food did she eat?
7. Is there something she didn’t do?
8. What places did she visit?

EXERCISE 2: Read the postcard again and match each part of the postcard with a statement.

1. This says where the writer is now____ a Helen Gallagher,10 Westbourne...

2. This says hello to the reader____ b How are you?
3. This says what the writer is doing tomorrow____ c Hi Helen!
4. This is the reader’s address____ d We’re here in New York!
5. This says goodbye to the reader____ e Yesterday we went….
6. This asks the reader a question____ f There are lots of tourists
7. This says what the writer did yesterday____ g Tomorrow we’re going to...
8. This says what the writer did the previous days____ h Wish you were here
9. This says something interesting about the city____ i The other day we went...
EXERCISE 3: Read the statements below. Find and underline examples in the postcard.

1. We use short forms when we’re writing to a friend: we’re/ I’m…

2. We use exclamation marks to show excitement: !
3. We use phrases to say goodbye before we write our name at the end.

PLANNER: AN INFORMAL LETTER TO A FRIEND

Part of Useful information Text

postcard

Line 1: Greet your friend (write his/her

name only) Hi… Hello...

Paragraph 1 Ask your friend some questions.

How are you? I hope…
What/When/Where, etc?

Paragraph 2 Say where you are. Say what it’s

like (weather, architecture, etc.). Say
something interesting about the
place where you are.

Paragraph 3 Say what you did yesterday. ( For

example: include a picture on the
postcard and mention it)

Paragraph 4 Say what you did and didn’t do the

days before. The places you visited,
where or what you ate, the activities
you did, etc.
Paragraph 5 OPTIONAL. Say what you are going
to do tomorrow.

Closing Say goodbye and express your love.

phrases Bye! / Bye for now! / See you soon!
Lots of love, / Love,

Your name Your first name only