Crysti Burnette & Jordan Cayton
ECED 4300 C
Dr. Tonja Root
Spring 2008
Grade Level: 4th grade
Pen Pal Letters
Jordan Cayton
Stage of writing: Prewriting
GPS: ELA4W4. The student consistently uses a
writing process to develop, revise, and
evaluate writing. The student
a. Plans and drafts independently and
resourcefully.
PLO: Students will prewrite effectively through
creating a pen pal letter.
Crysti Burnette
Stage of writing: Drafting
GPS: ELA4W4. The student consistently uses a
writing process to develop, revise, and
evaluate writing. The student
a. Plans and drafts independently and
resourcefully.
PLO: Students will draft effectively through
creating a pen pal letter.
Stage of writing: Revising
GPS: ELA4W4. The student consistently uses a writing
process to develop, revise, and evaluate
writing. The student
b. Revises selected drafts to improve
coherence and progression by adding,
deleting, consolidating, and rearranging text.
PLO: Students will revise through adding, changing,
deleting, and rearranging their pen pal
letters.
Stage of writing: Editing
GPS: ELA4W4. The student consistently uses a writing
process to develop, revise, and evaluate
writing. The student
c. Edits to correct errors in spelling,
punctuation, etc.
PLO: Students will edit their pen pal letters using a
checklist of mechanics.
Form of Writing: Pen Pal Letters
•Writing letters
•important skill to learn and maintain
•necessary later in life
•Introducing pen pal letters
•allows students to practice the writing process
•communicate with a friend
•Fourth graders
•write with a purpose
•learning about different topics of interest
•developing their own likes and dislikes
Pen Pal Letter
Pen Pal Letter
Pen Pal Letter Citations
Title: A Third Grader’s Cluster and Pen Pal Letter
Author: Allison
Tompkins, G.E. (2005). Language arts: Patterns of practice.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice
Hall.
Title: Pen Pal Program, between Minnesotan and Kambi
student via e-mail
Author: Francis
Mwaura, R. M. (2006). Pen pal program. Retrieved April 11,
2008, from Kambi Primary School Web site:
www.kambiprimaryschool.net/images/l1MaryKeith.jpg
Stage of Writing: Prewriting
During this stage of writing, you are:
•getting your thoughts together
•thinking about areas and topics
•putting them on paper
•determining the form, purpose or function,
topic, audience, and graphic organizer
Prewriting Practice Activity
Shared Pen Activity:
•you will come to the front of the room to the flip chart
•you will help fill out the graphic organizer
•you will write:
•2 things about you, 1 thing that is new, 1 thing
about school, 1 thing about your family, 1 hobby,
and 2 questions
•we will post this paper on the board for the next stage
of writing, drafting
Prewriting Assessment Activity
•you will be given the graphic organizer
•you will fill out the graphic organizer
•use your prewriting organizer to make complete
sentences
•consider the audience, form, and criteria
•you will need to include:
•2 things about you, 1 thing that is new, 1 thing
about school, 1 thing about your family, 1 hobby,
and 2 questions
Prewriting
The Building
Blocks
for Prewriting
a
The Building
Blocks
for Prewriting
a
Pen Pal
PenLetter
Pal Letter
Form:
Purpose or function:
Audience:
Something
about
me:
School
:
Topics:
Topics:
Something
about
me:
School
:
Something new:
School:
Something
about School
Hobby:
Something about
my family:
Something
new:
Something
about me:Hobby:
Question:
Question:
Cayton, J. (2008). The building blocks for prewriting.
Question:
Question:
The Building Blocks for Prewriting a
Pen Pal Letter
Prewriting
Form: Pen Pal Letter
Purpose or function: To write
a letter informing, and/or
entertaining my pen pal.
In this prewriting graphic
organizer, we:
Audience: My pen pal, Sally
Topics:
Something
about me:
Blonde hair
Glasses
Something
about School
Topics:
Something
about me:
Like chocolate and
playing with friends
Something new:
Braces on teeth
Good at math
Something about
my family:
1 Sister
Hobby:
Baseball
Question:
Like to do?
Cayton, J. (2008). The building blocks for prewriting.
Question:
Favorite things?
•filled out brief
information that will
help us to remember
what we want to talk
about
•who we are writing to
•why we are writing
Stage of Writing: Drafting
During this stage of writing, you are:
•using the prewriting stage’s graphic
organizer as a guide
•writing down ideas into complete sentences
•using the “Building a Pen Pal Letter” graphic
organizer
•not worrying about spelling or grammar
Draft Practice Activity
Shared Pen Activity:
•you will come to the flip board
•you will help fill out the drafting graphic organizer
•“Building a Pen Pal Letter”
•use your collective prewriting graphic organizer
•to include all everything needed for the draft
•focus on writing your ideas into sentences, not on
mechanics
Drafting Assessment Activity
•you will use the “Building a Pen Pal Letter” graphic
organizer
•use your prewriting graphic organizer to include
everything needed for the draft
•focus on writing your ideas into sentences, not on
mechanics
Drafting
________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_______________________
_______________________
Drafting
In this drafting graphic
organizer, we:
•used our prewriting
organizer
•wrote in complete
sentences
•did not worry about
mechanics
Parker, C.E. (2007). 30 graphic organizers with lessons and transparencies. Huntington Beach, CA: Shell Educational Publishing.
Stage of Writing: Revising
During this stage of writing, you are:
•revising your pen pal letters
•paying close attention to content
•adding, deleting, changing, or rearranging
your draft
Revising Practice Activity
Shared Pen Activity:
•you will help make revisions
•look at the content of the pen pal letter
•add, change, move, or delete information
•consider the requirements made in the prewriting
organizer
•focus on revising the content, not changing the
grammatical errors
Revising Assessment Activity
•you will make revisions to your draft
•look at the content of the pen pal letter
•add, change, move, or delete information
•consider the requirements made in the prewriting
organizer
•focus on revising the content, not changing the
grammatical errors
Revising
Parker, C. E. (2007). 30 graphic organizers with lessons and transparencies.
Huntington Beach, CA: Shell Educational Publishing.
Revising
We need to:
•Read over the draft
Add something
about
your family.
•Make comments
•Green = good
•Yellow = add or move
•Red = delete or change
Good Job!
You have more
than 2 things
about yourself
and your hobby!
Good, there are
two questions
and something
about school!
Add something new.
Change your closing
to ‘hope to hear from
you soon’.
Parker, C. E. (2007). 30 graphic organizers with lessons and transparencies.
Huntington Beach, CA: Shell Educational Publishing.
Stage of Writing: Editing
During this stage of writing, you are:
•editing your pen pal letters
•paying close attention to mechanics
•grammar, spelling, punctuation, and letter
formation
•making use of proofreader’s marks
Editing Practice Activity
Shared Pen Activity:
•you will help edit the class pen pal letter
•read the letter word-by-word
•to find spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and
paragraph formation
•use proofreader’s marks
•you will come up to the letter use the symbols
•you will be lead through the editor’s checklist
Editing Assessment Activity
•you will edit your pen pal letter
•read the letter word-by-word
•to find spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and
paragraph formation
•use proofreader’s marks
•use the editor’s checklist
Editing
We need to:
•read over it looking for mistakes
•use the symbols below
My name is Christi. I have blonde
hair and glasses. I just got braces
braces!
I have one sibling. Her name is
charlotte. I like to play
outside with my friends and eat
chocolate! What do you like to do?
I am really good at math and
playing baseball. What are some of
your favoritethings?
favorite thins?
Hope
Hopetotohear
hearfrom
fromyou
yousoon,
soon,
Christi
Christi
Editing
We need to:
•use the editor’s checklist
Editor’s Checklist:
All the words are spelled correctly.
The first line of each new paragraph is
indented.
The first word in all sentences starts with a
capital letter.
Proper nouns that name a specific person,
place, or thing have been capitalized.
Each sentence ends with a punctuation mark.
Commas are used in any series of three or
more things (apples, oranges, and pears).
Commas connect the parts of compound
sentences.
I reread the document carefully for all errors.
My name is Christi. I have blonde
hair and glasses. I just got braces
I have one sibling. Her name is
charlotte. I like to play
outside with my friends and eat
chocolate! What do you like to do?
I am really good at math and
playing baseball. What are some of
your favoritethings?
Hope to hear from you soon,
Christi
Helpful Links
http://www.studentsoftheworld.info/
http://www.stonesoup.com/links/penpal/
http://www.pen-pal.com/