A Sample Parent Letter

The Pen Pal Project

Dear Families,

      This letter is to inform you about an exciting opportunity your student will be participating in called, “The Pen Pal Project”.  Your student will receive a Pen Pal from Delaware in the month of December.  Pen Pals are a fantastic tool used to engage students in the writing process.  Our classroom now has a mailbox where mail will be deposited and received.  The students have been provided with pencils, stationary, and postage-paid envelopes through “The Pen Pal Project”.

     

      Schools across the United States are finding community partners to sponsor classrooms in an effort to enhance writing programs.  We want to recognize Amazing Window Washers for their contribution.

      We also want to recognize, Rachel Robinson, our classroom parent volunteer.  “The Pen Pal Project” is implemented in classrooms only after a parent volunteer is committed to the project.  “The Pen Pal Project” values a strong Home-School Connection.

      Please feel free to contact me if you should have any questions about this project.  Thank you.

Letter Writing Rubric

Letter-Writing : The Pen Pal Project

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Teacher Name:  


Student Name:     ________________________________________

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Salutation and Closing	Salutation and closing have no errors in capitalization and punctuation.	Salutation and closing have 1-2 errors in capitalization and punctuation.	Salutation and closing have 3 or more errors in capitalization and punctuation.	Salutation and/or closing are missing.
Format	Complies with all the requirements for a friendly letter.	Complies with almost all the requirements for a friendly letter.	Complies with several of the requirements for a friendly letter.	Complies with less than 75% of the requirements for a friendly letter.
Grammar & spelling (conventions)	Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling.	Writer makes 1-2 errors in grammar and/or spelling.	Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar and/or spelling	Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar and/or spelling.
Ideas	Ideas were expressed in a clear and organized fashion. It was easy to figure out what the letter was about.	Ideas were expressed in a pretty clear manner, but the organization could have been better.	Ideas were somewhat organized, but were not very clear. It took more than one reading to figure out what the letter was about.	The letter seemed to be a collection of unrelated sentences. It was very difficult to figure out what the letter was about.
Length	The letter is 7 or more sentences.	The letter is 5-6 sentences.	The letter is 3-4 sentences.	The letter is less than 2 sentences.
Capitalization and Punctuation	Writer makes no errors in capitalization and punctuation.	Writer makes 1-2 errors in capitalization and punctuation.	Writer makes 3-4 errors in capitalization and punctuation.	Writer makes more than 4 errors in capitalization and punctuation.
Neatness	Letter is typed, clean, not wrinkled, and is easy to read with no distracting error corrections. It was done with pride.	Letter is neatly hand-written, clean, not wrinkled, and is easy to read with no distracting error corrections. It was done with care.	Letter is typed and is crumpled or slightly stained. It may have 1-2 distracting error corrections. It was done with some care.	Letter is typed and looks like it had been shoved in a pocket or locker. It may have several distracting error corrections. It looks like it was done in a hurry or stored improperly.
Content Accuracy	The letter contains at least 5 accurate facts about the topic.	The letter contains 3-4 accurate facts about the topic.	The letter contains 1-2 accurate facts about the topic.	The letter contains no accurate facts about the topic.
Envelope	Complete, accurate return address and recipient address. Addresses in correct positions.	Complete, accurate return address and recipient address. Position may be slightly off.	1-2 errors in return address. Recipient address is correct.	Addresses are incomplete and/or inaccurate.

Writing Websites

The Pen Pal Project looks forward to supporting all of your writing lessons.  The following websites will support your existing Writing Curriculum.


INTERACTIVE LETTER WRITING - Great idea for your COMPUTER CENTER!

http://www.joelson.addr.com/letterwriting.htm

WRITE A FRIENDLY MONSTER -

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/tv/printables/TCR/0743931734_143-147.pdf

WRITE AND READ A KANGAROO STORY - 

http://www.vrml.k12.la.us/k/k_trophy/k/themes/theme6/kangaroo/kanagaroo.asp

MY KANGAROO SENTENCES:

 http://www.vrml.k12.la.us/k/k_trophy/k/themes/theme6/kangaroo/kanagaroosentences.asp

KANGAROO WRITING PARAGRAPH:

http://www.vrml.k12.la.us/k/k_trophy/k/themes/theme6/kangaroo/kanagaroospace.asp

BE A REPORTER -

http://www.vrml.k12.la.us/cc/newspaper/news.asp

Graphic Organizers - PRE WRITING

http://www.vrml.k12.la.us/graphorgan/

ACROSTIC POEM GENERATOR

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/acrostic/ 

Happy Writing!

WELCOME TO THE PEN PAL PROJECT!

Thank you for visiting your online resource for LETTER WRITING.  You will receive amazing resources for your classroom each week beginning December 1, 2010.  An automatic email will be sent to you when a New Post is ready for your review.  We encourage your questions and comments as they help us improve THE PEN PAL PROJECT. 

We look forward to helping you implement a writing experience that your students will never forget!  Your students will develop a positive association to writing and you will see them become self motivated.   There is nothing more rewarding than watching a student who is self motivated!  Thank you, again, for participating in this exciting classroom experience!

HAPPY WRITING!