Friendly Letters Put Together

Third Grade Writing

by Anna Whaley August 4, 2017

Friendly letters are under construction! In this lesson, students will learn the unique parts of a friendly letter as
they practice the art of writing their own friendly letters.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to organize, plan, and write friendly letters.

Students will be able to use commas in the heading, greeting, and closing of a friendly letter.

Materials and preparation

Class set of Construct a Friendly Letter

worksheet
Class set of Letter Writing Match-Up worksheet
Notebook paper or student journals
One colored pencil per student (any color
except yellow or white)
Group of sentence strips or large index cards,
each with one of the following words written on
it: Heading, Greeting, Body, Closing, Signature.
(You will need one card per student unless you
have students share a card. Create as many
groups of cards as needed, in order for all
students to have a card or share with a
partner.)
Music (streamed from a computer or played on
another device)
Class set of Arranging a Letter worksheet
(optional)

Attachments

Construct a Friendly Letter (PDF)

Letter Writing Match-Up (PDF)
Arranging a Letter (PDF)

Introduction (5 minutes)

Invite students to participate in a brainstorm about when they might write a friendly letter. (For example,
they might write a letter to a pen pal, write to a grandparent or other relative, or write to a friend who
has moved away).
Tell the students that they are going to be learning more about how to organize a friendly letter,
including how to write an address in a friendly letter.

Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling (5 minutes)

Using a concrete example from the school that students can relate to (such as writing to another teacher

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 or the principal), model the process of constructing a friendly letter on chart paper that includes the
following parts: heading, greeting, body, closing, and signature
Label each part of the friendly letter in a different color.
Outside of the different parts of the letter, give examples for other ideas. For example, the closing of a
letter does not always have to end in the word "sincerely." Other types of closings could be used.
Draw students’ attention to the address and date found in the heading, where commas are included.

Guided Practice (20 minutes)

Assign each student to a partner.

Ask the students to use the modeled form to construct a friendly letter to their partner. Brainstorm topics
that they can include in their letter, including a discussion about favorite hobbies or questions for the
other person.
After all students have finished writing their friendly letter, distribute a colored pencil to each student and
have them switch letters with their partner. Ask the students to label the parts of their peer's letter and to
make suggestions.
Give the students time to participate in a peer review of their work.
As students work, circulate around the room and check to see that the students have correctly
constructed and labeled their letters. Provide additional prompting and guidance as needed.

Independent working time (15 minutes)

Ask the students to complete the Construct a Friendly Letter worksheet.

Related books and/or media

BOOKS:
Dear Annie by Judith Caseley
Dear Teacher by Amy Husband
Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague

Differentiation

Support:

For students who need additional practice in arranging the parts of a letter, ask them to complete the
worksheet Arranging a Letter.

Enrichment:

Challenge students to explore and brainstorm purposes for different types of letters that could be written
to a single person.

Technology Integration

Make friendly letter writing authentic by organizing electronic pen pals for the students. This can be done
by researching and coordinating with a classroom across the world or across the country. Students can
write friendly letters and send their letters in messages or emails under your supervision. If you prefer
not to have students do this individually, you can always make it a whole-class writing experience, where
you guide the students in shared writing and send the friendly letter in an email or message on behalf of
the class.

Assessment (15 minutes)

Ask the students to complete the Letter Writing Match-Up worksheet.

Check to see that students are organizing their letters and labeling letter parts correctly.

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Review and closing (5 minutes)

Distribute one labeled sentence strip or index card to each student.

Tell the students that you are going to turn the music on. When the music stops, they need to find the
four other cards that go with their card. After they have done that, they need to stand (holding their
cards) in the order of a letter.
Turn the music on and ask students to mix and mingle around the room, stopping the music for the
students to find their group and order the different labels.
Invite students to share the significance and meaning of each part of the letter. If desired, ask them to
share an example.

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Name: Date:
49¢

Construct a Friendly Letter

Use the prompts and hints below to help you plan to write a friendly letter. Once you have
organized your ideas on this page, use a separate piece of paper to write your friendly letter.

Hint: In these spaces, write

your address and the date
below your address. You
can use your address or your
school’s address. Don’t
forget to use commas!

Hint: Write the name of the

Dear person who is receiving your
letter. Don’t forget a comma!

Hint: In this space,

write the body of
the letter.

End your letter with a

closing, such as “Sincerely.”
Don’t forget your comma!

Sign your name at bottom.

You are finished!

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Name: Date:

Letter Writing Match-up

Use the words from the first word bank to help you write a friendly letter. You do not have to use
all the words. After you have written a friendly letter, draw arrows and label each part of the
friendly letter with words from the second word bank.
Word Bank #1: Words that I can use in a friendly letter
Your friend Yours truly Road/Street Dear Sincerely

Word Bank #2: Parts of a friendly letter

Body Signature Heading Closing Greeting

My Friendly Letter:

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Name: Date:

Arranging A Letter
Cut out the pieces at the bottom of the page, cutting on the dotted lines. Use each part to form
a friendly letter. Place each part where it should go on the page. Glue the pieces so that all parts
form a friendly letter.

49¢

I am so excited because our family is getting a new dog. 6500 Tulip Court
I think I will name it Mustard because the dog we are Summerville, NC 34576
getting is a light tan color. This is our first pet! Do you
have any pets? Have you ever had a pet before? December 1, 2017

Dear Leslie, Jessie Sincerely,

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