English lesson plan · 2nd grade (Year 3 in England) · 60 minutes
Parts of a friendly letter
Writing & Editing
CCSS L.2.2.BCCSS W.2.5England: Y2 Writing (letters)England: Y3 Writing
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Parts of a friendly letter.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: Days of the week and months of the year
Leads to: the next skill in this area.
Materials: A model text, Planning frame, Checklists for editing, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 6 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Days of the week and months of the year). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Which day comes after Tuesday? Type it. → WednesdayPrompt: Say the days in order: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…
- Which month comes straight after January? (December / March / February / July) → FebruaryPrompt: Start at January and say the months in order.
- Which is the correct spelling? the month after July (August / Agust / Augest / Augast) → AugustPrompt: Say the word slowly, the way it is spelled: Wed-nes-day, Feb-ru-ary.
Hook · 6 min
- Show two openings to the same piece of writing and ask which makes them want to read on.
- Share the objective: Parts of a friendly letter. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 12 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: Read Rosa's letter. Which part is the body (the main message)? 12 May Dear Grandma, Thank you for the dinosaur book. I have read it three times already! My favourite part is about the fossils. Love from, Rosa
- Step 1: Friendly letters have a date, a greeting (Dear…), a body, a closing (Love from…) and a signature.
- Step 2: So the answer is: Thank you for the dinosaur book…
- Answer: Thank you for the dinosaur book…
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 12 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- Read Rosa's letter. Which part is the closing? 12 May Dear Grandma, Thank you for the dinosaur book. I have read it three times already! My favourite part is about the fossils. Love from, Rosa (12 May / Rosa / Dear Grandma, / Love from,) → Love from,Prompt: A letter goes: date, greeting, body, closing, signature.
- Read the question. Which punctuation goes after "Dear Sam" in a letter? (a comma / nothing at all / an exclamation mark / a question mark) → a commaPrompt: Picture a letter from top to bottom.
You do: independent practice · 17 min
- Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
- Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.
The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 7 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- Read the question. Which is a good closing for a letter to a friend? (Chapter 1 / Your friend, / Dear Kim, / Once upon a time,) → Your friend,Prompt: Picture a letter from top to bottom.
- Read Rosa's letter. Which part is the body (the main message)? 12 May Dear Grandma, Thank you for the dinosaur book. I have read it three times already! My favourite part is about the fossils. Love from, Rosa (12 May / Dear Grandma, / Love from, / Thank you for the dinosaur book…) → Thank you for the dinosaur book…Prompt: A letter goes: date, greeting, body, closing, signature.
Watch out for
- Writing everything at once without planning.
- Editing only spelling and not whether the writing makes sense.
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Days of the week and months of the year.
- Use concrete materials: a model text.
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-2.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder