Unit Overview

Content Area:  Language Arts Literacy                    
Unit Title:  Friendly Letter/Welcome to Our School—A Transition from Elementary to Intermediate                   
Target Course/Grade Level:  Self-Contained/6th grade Inclusion/5th grade
Name:  Melissa Ingram, Stefanie Spak
School:  Pennsauken Intermediate School                             
Date:   April 2011                              

Unit Summary
In this unit, students will be introduced to the five parts of a friendly letter.  Students will learn what is included in each part, as well as its place in a friendly letter.  Students will learn how to use appropriate tone in letter writing.  This lesson includes a video clip, guided practice, and an independent writing activity.  The unit will conclude as a welcoming for the new, upcoming fifth graders next year as they transition from elementary to the Intermediate School.  Students will act as ambassadors to the fifth graders by writing personal letters and through a movie created to welcome the fifth graders to the Intermediate School.

Primary interdisciplinary connections
Technology, Media Literacy, Art

21st century themes
Global Awareness
Civic Literacy

Unit Rationale
Students review the five parts of a friendly letter and then write a letter welcoming incoming students.  The purpose of the letter is to help the fifth graders transition into the Intermediate School.  The new students will come prepared with helpful suggestions and inside information from current students.  The letters tell about the students own first experiences in the Intermediate School and their favorite parts about their school.  Students will learn how to use tone, appropriate language, and letter structure for formal writing.

Learning Targets

Standards

• Standard W.4

Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

• Standard RI.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.

• Standard RI.7

Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person's life story in both print and multimedia), de terming which details are emphasized in each account.

Unit Essential Questions

• Why do we need to learn how to write a friendly letter?
• When might you need to write a friendly letter?
• What are the special and important aspects of the school?

Unit Enduring Understandings

• Students will understand how to write a friendly letter.

Unit Learning Targets

• Students will identify the five parts of a friendly letter.
• Students will write letters to the incoming fifth graders.
• Students will determine important and special aspects of the school.
• Students will create a video about the school.
• Students will use appropriate tone in letter writing.

Evidence of Learning

Summative Assessment (X days)

• Formal letter
• Tour of the School Video

Equipment needed

• Smart board
• Flip camera
• Internet (for letter generator website & YouTube video)
• Document camera

Teacher Resources

• Internet
• Letter generator website
• YouTube video
• Smart board lesson
• Flip camera/video

Formative Assessments

• Smart board activities
• Exit slips
• Continual observation

• Discussions and participation (responding to questions/asking questions)
• Interact with other students during various activities/lessons

Lesson Plans

Lesson 1
How to Write a Friendly Letter  45 minutes

Lesson 2
Dear 5th Grader,
Write a Friendly Letter to an incoming 5th grader 45 minutes

Lesson 3
Dear 5th Grader,
Letter Generator—Publish final draft of Friendly Letter 45 minutes

Lesson 4
Script 45 minutes

Lesson 5
Roll the Tape!
Welcome to Our School—A Transition from Elementary to Intermediate School  60 minutes

Teacher Notes

Accommodations and Modifications will be made for students with IEPS.

Lesson Plan 1
Content Area: Language Arts Literacy
Grade: Self-Contained/6th
Inclusion/5th grade

Lesson Title: Friendly Letter
Timeframe: 45 minutes

Lesson Components

21st Century Themes
Civic Literacy
Global Awareness

21st Century Skills
Creativity & Innovation
Media Literacy
Communication & Elaboration
Life & Career Skills

Goals/Objectives/CPIs
Students will complete the following objectives with a minimum of 80% accuracy.

• Students will identify the five parts of a friendly letter.
• Students will identify tone in a friendly letter.
• Students will use appropriate tone in letter writing.
• Students will write letters to the incoming fifth graders.

Learning Activities/Instructional Strategies
Daily Lesson Plans (5 days)
Lesson 1

• Open lesson with a discussion about friendly letters: Who has ever written or received a friendly letter? Does society still write friendly letters? Discuss ways of communication: What are ways people might have communicated in the past? Presently, etc.
• Discuss essential questions: Why do we need to learn how to write a friendly letter? When might you need to write a friendly letter?
• Discuss the usual tone, or attitude, of a friendly letter.
• Introduce the five parts of a friendly letter.
• Complete smart board activities.
• Write a practice friendly letter as a whole group activity using the letter generator website.
• Exit slips: Identify the 5 parts of a friendly letter

Lesson 2

• Students will write their rough draft of a friendly letter to an incoming 5th grader.  The letter should include helpful suggestions, and inside information, as well as telling about their own first experiences and favorite parts about the school.

Lesson 3

• Students will use Microsoft Word and the letter generator to publish their final draft of their friendly letter.

Lesson 4

• Students will discuss and determine important and special aspects of the school.
• Students will prepare to create a video about the school. 
• Students will cooperate with other students in small groups in order to plan for the movie. 
• Students will acquire skills in videotaping, edit video footage, and write a script to go along with the video.

Lesson 5

• Students will create video.
• The video should demonstrate characteristics of the Intermediate School with the purpose of informing students of what to expect as they transition.
• The video will be presented to a group of fifth graders who will be entering the Intermediate School in the fall.

Formative Assessment Tasks
5 formative assessment tasks

• Smart board activities
• Exit slips
• Continual observation

• Discussions and participation (responding to questions/asking questions)
• Interact with other students during various activities/lessons

Universal Design for Learning Options

Multiple Means of Representation

1. Perception (Wordle: A toy for generating word clouds from text that you provide. This reinforces key vocabulary words, developing vocabulary lists, and components of a friendly letter. )
2. Language & symbols (Voki: A text to speech generator that allows the student to create a personal speaking avatar. Avatars are created for the students by the students, and are used to read text and present visual information.)
3. Perception (Glogster: A creative way to represent a group of words and ideas. This reinforces key phrases and words.)

Multiple Means of Action and Expression    

• Physical activity (Arts/Music and Dance Drive Academic Achievement: This program uses dance, music, and visual arts to teach skills in reading and writing.

Multiple Means of Engagement

• Recruiting interest (Teacher Tube: A free online video library with links to thousands of videos in all subjects. Presenting ideas through videos are another way to present information in an interesting manner.)
• Sustaining effort and persistence: (Digging for Answers: A quiz game that allows students to test their research skills. If students answer incorrectly, they are prompted with a link to background knowledge that will help them find the correct answer. This “game” encourages students to access new knowledge by supplying access to appropriate background information.)

Resources
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/letter-generator-30005.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqJs5am0m7c

www.udlcenter.org/implementation/examples