Welcome to this Lesson:

Writing to your Favorite Author

composing a letter by first brainstorming great questions

This lesson was built for WritingFix after being proposed by Nevada teacher Shannon Mullen at an AT&T-sponsored in-service class for teachers.

The mentor text:

Dear Mr. Henshaw is Beverly Cleary's award-winning chapter book about correspondence between a reader and his favorite author.

Three-Sentence Overview of this Lesson:

Students will create a friendly letter to an author that they like. They will write from a genuine and personal point of view, sharing details about themselves, based on questions they choose to answer. Students will ask questions of the author, using details as they explain why they have an interest in the questions they are asking. Teachers: click here to read the entire lesson plan.

6-Trait Overview for this Lesson:

The focus trait in this writing assignment is organization; the structure of a friendly letter is what students are being asked to master with this writing assignment.  The support trait is idea development; students are to try and match the details used by Leigh when he asks questions in the book Dear Mr. Henshaw.