ELA Writing Lesson Plan: Thank You Letters
Elements of the Lesson
I. Standard
​Common Core State Standards
Or Essential Elements
II. Objectives/Targets and I can statements
​What am I going to teach?
What will the students be able to do at the end of the
lesson?
What formative assessments are used to inform instruction?
What challenges might students encounter?
III. Lesson Management: Focus and Organization
​What positive strategies, techniques and tools will you see?
Evidence that Documents the Elements
ELA
● W.3.2.a: Introduce a topic and group related information together;
include illustrations when useful to aiding comprehension
● W.3.5: With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and
strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
● W.3.4: With guidance and supports from adults, produce writing in which
the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose.
● W3.10: Write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time
frames for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
● I can brainstorm my ideas by writing them down in an outline format in
my notebook.
● I can write a thank you letter with a beginning, middle, and end.
At the end of the lessons, students will be able to choose a person they are
grateful for, brainstorm their ideas in an outline format, and write a thank you
letter to this person, explaining why they are grateful for them.
Formative Assessment that will be used to inform instruction are
teacher-students observations by the teacher walking around the classroom
during Independent Work, and by student outlines, showcasing their ideas.
The challenges that students might encounter are technical difficulties (doc
cam/projector issues), handwriting strategies, spelling, student motivation, and
student processing rate.
Positive Strategies/Techniques/Tools
● Review Prior Knowledge
● Progress Monitoring
 What ideas for on task, active and focused student ● Specific Praise/Positive Reinforcement
behavior? ● Specific Feedback

Student Behavior
● Answering teacher questions
● Asking their own questions
● Completing all Guided, Partner, and Independent Work
● Appropriately working as a team/group
● Appropriately working independently

IV. Introduction: Creating Excitement and Focus for the Generate Interest
Lesson Target Tell the students about a time I was very grateful to someone, so I wrote them a
​What will you do to generate interest? Thank You letter. Ask the students what it means to be grateful. Ask the students
How will you access prior knowledge? who they would write a Thank You letter to.
What will you practice/review?
Prior Knowledge
● The story, “Kumak’s Fish”
● Letter Format

Practice/Review
● Outlines
● Letter Formats
● Editing

V. Input: Setting up the Lesson for Student Success Task Analysis

1. The teacher will explain what it means to be grateful through the
Task analysis: students’ prior knowledge of the story, “Kumak’s Fish”, a letter read on
● What information does the learner need? If needed, Monday, and page 117 in ​Reading Street​.
how will it be provided? 2. The teacher will review with the students what the features of a letter are
● What are the step-by-step procedures of the lesson? (i.e. Beginning, Middle, End, “Dear…”, “Sincerely…”) on notebook paper
How is the lesson scaffolded? under the doc camera.
Bloom’s Taxonomy *​Webb’s Depth of Knowledge 3. The teacher will begin brainstorming a “Thank You Letter” by saying,
- Remembering ​- Recall “First, I want to think about who I am grateful for. I am grateful for Mrs.
- Understanding - Skills/Concept Harris.”
- Applying -​ Strategic Thinking 4. The teacher will then write “1. Mrs. Harris” on the notebook paper under
- Analyzing - Extended Thinking the doc camera. “Think about who you are grateful for and write it down
- Evaluating on your paper.”
- Creating 5. The teacher provides time for students to write down who they are
grateful for.
Accommodations: Differentiating to meet students’ needs 6. The teacher will say, “Next, I want to think about why I am grateful for
● Remediation/Intervention Mrs. Harris. I am learning a lot from Mrs. Harris. I am also grateful for her
● Extension/enrichment allowing me to learn and teach in this classroom.”
7. The teacher will write on the notebook paper, “a. teaching me to be a
Methods, Materials and Integrated Technology teacher,” “b. allowing me to teach in her classroom.”
● Instructional techniques 8. The teacher will remind the students that this is just an outline, not the
● Engagement strategies actual letter. “We are just getting ideas down.”
● Materials and Integrated Technology list 9. The teacher will ask students to Turn-and-Talk to their partner(s) about
who they are grateful for and why.
10. After students have time to discuss and the teacher asks some students
to share their ideas, the teacher will provide students with the remaining
time to finish brainstorming and/or write their letters with a beginning,
middle, and end.

Accommodations
● Some students may need more Guided Practice than others during
brainstorming.
● Some students will only write 1-2 paragraphs, while others will write 3-5
paragraphs.
● Some students will need an additional day to begin writing their letter
(may need more brainstorming time).

Methods/Materials/Integrated Technology
● Reading Street
● Think Aloud
● Doc Camera/Projector
● Notebook/Journal
● Turn-and-Talk
VI. Modeling: I Do 1. The teacher will explain what it means to be grateful through the
​SHOW/TELL (Visual/Verbal Input) students’ prior knowledge of the story, “”.
2. The teacher will begin brainstorming a “Thank You Letter” by saying,
HOW/WHAT (Questioning and Redirecting) “First, I want to think about who I am grateful for. I am grateful for Mrs.
Harris.”
3. The teacher will then write “1. Mrs. Harris” on the notebook paper under
the doc camera.
4. The teacher will say, “Next, I want to think about why I am grateful for
Mrs. Harris. I am learning a lot from Mrs. Harris. I am also grateful for her
allowing me to learn and teach in this classroom.”
5. The teacher will write on the notebook paper, “a. teaching me to be a
teacher,” “b. allowing me to teach in her classroom.”

VII. Checking for Understanding 1. “When was a time you were grateful?”
Samples of questions to be asked 2. “Why was Kumak grateful to Uncle Aglu?”
Ways in which students will respond and be engaged 3. “Who do you want to thank?”
Formative assessment strategies to be implemented 4. “How do we begin our letters?”

Students will respond and be engaged by answering questions, following along in

the Modeling and Guided Practice, participating in the Independent Practice, and
asking questions when they are confused on directions or stuck on what to write.

Formative Assessment that will be used to inform instruction are

teacher-students observations by the teacher walking around the classroom
during Independent Work, and by student outlines, showcasing their ideas.

VII. Guided Practice: We Do
​What do the teacher and student do together?
How will a gradual release of responsibility be
accomplished?
1. The teacher and students will review what the features of a letter are (i.e.
Beginning, Middle, End, “Dear…”, “Sincerely…”) on notebook paper
under the doc camera.
2. After the teacher writes “1. Mrs. Harris” on the notebook paper under the
doc camera, the teacher will ask the students to “Think about who you
are grateful for and write it down on your paper.”
3. The teacher provides time for students to write down who they are
grateful for.

IX. Collaborative (You Do Together) and/or Independent
Practice (You Do)
​What practices will be demonstrated/modeled?
X. Closure
​How will the ‘I can’ statement(s) be reviewed?
How will students be involved?
What connections to future learning will occur?
XI. Assessment
​What evidence supports that the objective(s) were met?
What do my students know, understand and are able to do?
What formative assessments will be used to inform
instruction?
4. The teacher will ask students to Turn-and-Talk to their partner(s) about
who they are grateful for and why.
5. After students have time to discuss, the teacher will ask some students to
share their ideas.
1. The students will use the remaining time to finish brainstorming and/or
write their letters with a beginning, middle, and end.
The “I Can” statements will be reviewed at the end of the lesson through the
teacher reminding the students to use complete sentences when writing a letter,
and to have a beginning, middle, and end of their letter.
Students will be involved by answering questions, following along in the Modeling
and Guided Practice, participating in the Independent Practice, and asking
questions when they are confused on directions or stuck on what to write.
Connections to future learning will occur through introducing students to how to
write a letter and how to brainstorm different types of writing.
The notebooks/journals with a page of a brainstorming outline and a page with a
Thank You Letter are evidence that supports the objectives were met.
At the end of the lessons, students will be able to choose a person they are
grateful for, brainstorm their ideas in an outline format, and write a thank you
letter to this person, explaining why they are grateful for them.
Formative Assessment that will be used to inform instruction are
teacher-students observations by the teacher walking around the classroom
during Independent Work, and by student outlines, showcasing their ideas.
(Edited by Elementary Team, 2014)
Revised July 2016
(Revised 9/17)