Post office pigeons

In this learning activity, you are going to write a letter to an author of your choice using the letter format. You can choose to handwrite your letter, type it, or make an audio recording.

The letter format

Parts of a letter

These are the parts of a letter and appear in the order listed:

• Heading (Date, Sender’s Address, Recipient’s Address with line spaces in between)
• Greeting (includes the comma ,"" at the end)
• Body (Introductory paragraph and paragraphs containing the message)
• Closing (includes the comma ,"" at the end)
• Signature (no period after having included your name, only your name)

In the order listed, a letter has the Heading, Greeting, Body, Closing, Signature.

What to include in your letter to an author?

Use the following checklist to make sure that your letter includes everything that a complete letter should!

In the order listed, the Heading has the Date, the Sender’s Address (use your school address) and the Recipient’s Address (author’s address).

Notice at least 1 to a maximum of 2 empty line spaces are required in between:

• the Date and the Sender’s Address,
• the Sender’s Address and the Recipient’s Address,
• the Sender’s Address and the Greeting,
• Greeting and the Introductory Paragraph,
• every paragraph of the Body
• end of the Body and Closing
• the Closing and Signature

Each part of the letter is separated by at least 1, or 2 empty line spaces.

Be sure to include the comma ,"" at the end of the Greeting, and the Closing. No punctuation is used in your Signature.

Each paragraph has 1-2 empty line spaces in between. The paragraphs that contain the message is called the Body of the letter. Your letter should have at least 2 paragraphs. It’s what we write in the letter.

Choose a familiar author as your recipient

You can brainstorm through mind mapping books that you’ve read or listened to on audio books and then search the author of a book or select the author or writer of a text you are currently reading. If you’re stuck, try asking others for suggestions.

Writing with expression

Purpose: What do you wish to express to the author? Share your thoughts and feelings about a book, graphic organizer, novel, article, poem, or short story they’ve written. Try to include one idiom to express a feeling you were left with or experienced while reading their work. Consider focusing on a specific section of the book. Try to use adverbs and comparative adjectives or use a book or dictionary of idioms to help you.

Sign your name using your first name ONLY. Do not include your last name.

Write your letter!

Write your letter in your journal, letter template paper or online.

Revising your letter

Include some literary devices

When revising your letter, consider some literary devices to include such as adverbs, comparative adjectives, idioms to communicate your opinions and feelings.

Use link words

You can also use link words to adjust and improve the flow of your story writing.

Comparative Adjectives

Comparative adjectives are adjectives that end in -er or -est, like fast er or fastest. Research a few examples of comparative adjectives. Make a list that end in -er and -est. Some words don’t follow this rule. Make a list of words like “good” that don’t follow this rule.

Back to your letter!

Once your revisions for your letter are done for content and structure, revise for punctuation, grammar, and spelling. You can use the checklist from the Action section to guide you.

Write the final draft of your letter and make sure that your revisions are reflected in it.

Label your envelope and add a stamp

The label of your envelope must include:

• the address of the recipient (where the recipient lives): mailing address including postal code positioned in the centre of the envelope’s front-side
• your school’s mailing address including postal code positioned in the upper-left corner of the envelope’s front-side
• you will also need to add the proper postage stamp for Canada Post to the top right-hand corner of the envelope’s front-side

Publishing (polish your final draft)

Now it’s time to write your polished letter!

Sign your name using your first name only. Do not include your last name.

Label your envelope using your school address.

Follow the parts of a letter and put 1 to 2 lines of spacing between them. Write your letter in your journal, letter template paper or online.

Reflection

As you read through these descriptions, which sentence best describes how you are feeling about your understanding of this learning activity? Press the button that is beside this sentence.

Now, record your ideas using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.