Letter To A Soldier

Students will:

• Understand the parts of a friendly letter.
• Be able to create a letter to mail to a soldier.
• Be able to share a letter with a peer to peer edit.
• Be able to create a final copy to mail.

Vocabulary Words:

1. Heading: The heading of a letter includes the address and the date.

2. Greeting: The greeting of a letter usually starts with 'Dear' and is followed by the person's name.

3. Body: The body is the main text of your letter.

4. Closing: The closing is a short, capitalized expression followed by a comma.

5. Signature: A signature in a letter is signing your name directly below the closing. 

6. Postscript: A postscript otherwise known as P.S is to add a note at the end of a letter. 

Quizlet - 5 parts of a friendly letter flashcards

To prepare for this lesson:

• Go to Operation Gratitude or a Million Thanks to obtain directions on who and how you can mail to troops.

• Decide what book/video to use if you so choose.

  • Don't Forget, God Bless Our Troops by Jill Biden

  • My Military Mom, Claudia Harrington

  • H is for Honor: A Military Family Alphabet, by Devin Scillian, illustrated by Victor Juhasz

• Watch the video on how to write a friendly letter.

• Choose a word processing application for the students to type the letter on. They can also handwrite the letter. 

See the Accommodations Page and Charts on the 21things4students website in the Teacher Resources. 

Directions for this activity:

This is a great activity for Veterans’  or Memorial Day, or the holiday season.

1. The teacher will read one of the stories in the pre-planning section or pick a story about the military to read or show to the class.  
    
2. Discuss writing a friendly letter.
    
3. Have the students watch the video on how to write a friendly letter
    
4. The teacher will brainstorm ideas for letters students could write to the military.
   
   
5. Inform the students as to which application they will use to write the letter. Provide paper if they are to handwrite the letter. 
    
6. If time is applicable, have them write a rough draft. Proofread the rough draft for any errors.

Different options for assessing the students:

• Observations
• Check for understanding
• Sample rubric