COVER LETTER

I. Topic/Grade Level: Creating a Cover Letter 12th Grade

II.
Standards:
Writing Standards for Literacy in Social Studies and Technical Subjects 612
6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing
products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.
7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a selfgenerated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize
multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies 612
8. Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent
understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.
III.Goals and Student Learning Outcomes:
GOAL: Students will create a cover letter that accompanies their previously created resumes.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will understand why it is important to have a
cover letter that they can pair with their resumes. These will be kept for future job
opportunities that arise.
Goal 1: Students will complete a cover letter that accompanies their resumes
Student Learning Outcome 1: Students will understand the importance of a cover letter
Student Learning Outcome 2: Students will know how to write a cover letter that is geared
towards specific employment opportunity.
IV.

Learning Environment(s):
This assignment and instructional time will be given face to face as direct
instruction in the classroom. All students should work in class with blended
learning taking place through the use of IPad applications and Google Docs on
IPads/laptops.

V.

Resources:
Noteablity Application
Google Docs
Internet
Sample Cover Letter

VI.

Diversity / Differentiation:
This will continue to be a part of the senior project and will include all students in
the senior class. Students with IEPs will be included into this population.

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VII.

Technology Inclusion:
The instructor will utilize the use of IPads and laptops that have internet connections into
the lesson. Students will be given a paper sample of a cover letter that they can work off.

VIII. Prior Knowledge: Prior to this lesson, students have: learned the purpose of the cover
letter as to accompany the resume when presented to an employer at an interview or upon
request. Students understand that this is a written expression of their qualifications listed
on their resume, geared towards a specific position.
Lesson Placement in the Unit: This is lesson 6 of 10.
IX.

Procedures:
1. Lesson Introduction / Anticipatory Set:
The instructor will distribute copies of sample cover letters to each of the students so
that they have something to work off of. Students will have prior knowledge of the
purpose of the cover letter and will most likely have seen one before, however this
template will be distributed to the class as a model and not specifically one for copying
purposes.
2. Direct Instruction:
Students will view the sample cover letter and ask any necessary questions in order for
clarification. Students should have previously completed their resumes and therefore
should be able to speak about their experiences and qualifications in letter format. The
instructor should monitor students working to write their cover letters and make
necessary comments or clarifications on quality. The instructor should utilize Google
Docs as students are sharing their cover letters, and the instructor should be monitoring
student work in the classroom as it is taking place.
3. Student Interaction with lesson content / Guided Practice:
Students will view the sample cover letter that is presented to them, they should
however only use this as a reference and not rely on it for the exact template or
specifications. It should contain original content and should not be copied in any way
or form.
4. Independent Practice:
Students should be working on their cover letters entirely independently. Since each
student will be writing in their own way, there is not collaboration necessary. The
educator will be present in order to help each student in the areas which they need
assistance. Content should be accessed independently.
5. Review / Closure:
This class period is more than enough time for students to complete their cover letters.
Each student should present their completed cover letter to the educators and submit it

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in Google Docs for review. Students will be required to review the comments made
and make necessary corrections for homework. Homework: create a script which
explains your personal statement and have it memorized in order to record your video
tomorrow. Students will also save images to their Google Drive in order to access
them for IMovie.
6. Presentations:
Students will complete a peer review exercise with their classmates in the last 10
minutes of the period. Classmates should make observations on spelling and
grammatical errors not caught by each individual student. Once peer review has been
completed, the instructor should be notified.
X.

XI.

Evaluation/Assessment:
While there is no formal rubric for grading, the cover letter should be free of spelling and
grammatical errors. Original signature should be included on paper copy that is scanned
and uploaded to their project website.
References:

Google Docs. (n.d.). Retrieved May 28, 2015, from https://docs.google.com/