Mini-Lesson / Letter Writing and Mailing, Breathing, Algebra, and the Brain

LETTER WRITING & MAILING 

How to: write a letter, turn a letter into a makeshift envelope, & address an envelope for mailing 

GRADE 3 

DURATION OF LESSON: 15 minutes 

SUBJECT: Writing 

OBJECTIVES: 1) Teach students how to write a letter with the 3 elements of a note/letter: greeting, message, farewell; 2) Teach students to fold a makeshift envelope out of an ordinary piece of paper for when they need to be resourceful / don’t have an envelope handy but want to secure their note; 3) Teach students how to properly address a real envelope they are sending by mail 

MATERIALS:  

• Paper 
• Envelopes 

• Tape 
• Example of a properly addressed envelope 
• Example of a hand-folded/makeshift envelope 

STEPS: 

1. Hand out paper and envelopes (and have students take out their own pen/pencil) 

2. Teach students the 3 elements of a note/letter/card and try it on one side of paper 

1. Greeting (“Dear Mom,”) 

2. Message/body (“Happy birthday! I hope you love your present.”) 

3. Farewell/closing (“Sincerely/Love/Best, ____”)  

1. “obviously you will right more or less depending on the letter, but for today just write the greeting, body, and one of the closing options followed by your name below the closing – don’t forget the commas on the greeting and the close!” 

3. Introduce situation where makeshift envelope may be useful: “Imagine you’re giving your Mom a birthday present and you want to attach a note in an envelope but don’t have an envelope. You can write your note on one side of a piece of paper like we just did, and then fold it so it’s concealed like an envelope. After this, you’ll know how to turn any note into a crafty envelope.” 

4. Teach students to fold the paper into an envelope 

1. Lay your note on the desk, writing side up, and rotate it so that it lays horizontally with the top of the note on the right and the end of note on the left 

2. Fold in the top 2 corners so they meet in the middle 

3. Fold up the bottom part so that the edge slightly overlaps the triangle you made 

4. Fold the bottom part in half again 

5. Fold the right and left sides into the middle so the corners overlap in the center 

6. Fold the top flap down so it slightly overlaps the bottom folds, and secure it in place with tape or a sticker (or even a paperclip) 

5. Teach students how to properly address an envelope 

1. Take the real envelope (if you want, lick the sticky part on the flap and fold it shut) and place it on your desk with the opening on the bottom. 

2. In the center of the front of the envelope, write the receiver’s name. 

3. Directly below, write the number and street name of their address – if they live in an apartment or unit, write it on the next line with the number: “Apartment #433”.  

4. The final line should be the city or town they live in, followed by a comma and then the state or state abbreviation and finally the zip code. 

5. Next your envelope needs a stamp. Since we aren’t actually sending these, just draw a little box in the upper right-hand corner and write “stamp” in it. 

6. Now you need a return address, which goes on the upper-left-hand corner – start with your name, and then follow the format in which you wrote the receiver’s address. 

1. Normally when you send mail, it will be to someone you do not live with, so of course the return address will be different from the receiver’s address. 

EVALUATION: Check to see if students have properly folded the envelopes before moving on to addressing the real envelopes. Glance around the room to ensure they follow each step correctly and are finished before moving on to next steps. Go around the room to ensure everyone is correctly addressing their envelopes.