Writing Letters

Once you have found a class that next step is establishing the student partners. The class who made initial contact with the perspective teacher should be the one to write letters of introduction.

Introduction Letters should include a paragraph

• describing themselves
• about their favorite things
• telling about what school is like

Download Introduction Letter Plan  (.doc) or (.htm) version

Enough information should be included to help the ePals select their match and make a connection to their new ePal. Including a question or two to respond to helps the new ePal get started on their letter.

As a teacher as with all good writing, the students use all steps of the writing process.  The teacher models ideas for the letters and works with the students to develop a list of things to include in their introduction. Drafts are done in our word processing program, edited and revised. When the teacher has approved the final piece then the student copies and paste the letter into an E-mail message and sent.

October 1, 2002

Hi future E-Pal,
   Hi, my name is xxx. My family and OI came from Russia four years ago. In my family I have one brother and a mother and father. We speak Russian at home and my brother and I speak English at school.  My brother and I speak English better than my parents. I am twelve years old. I’m twelve year old because I started school late. I have black hair and green eyes. I am 5 ½ feet tall and I am thin. I like to spike the front of my hair some times. My next paragraph will be about my favorites.
   My favorites colors are red, green and blue. I like sports. I love to roller blade at skate parks. My friend’s names are Jerome, Gurinder, Brett, James, Corey, Patrick and Cody. I like to play on my computer. I love to go with my dad on his semi truck across America. I collect post cards. I have over one hundred and fifty post cards. Do you have any favorites? My next paragraph will be about my School.
   In my school I like to read the Hank The Cowdog series. In My school I like to play football with my friends. I like to play under the new play shed. Can you tell me about your school and what you like to do?
 Now you know about me and I want to find about you,
   From, xxx

October,1 2002
Dear future Epal,

Hi my name is xxxx.  I am going to tell you about my self. I have sandy blond hair and brown eyes also I am 10 years old and I am quarter a black. My favorites things I like to do are hang out with my friends and go see moves I like to go ice skating with my friends.
Now I am going to tell you little more about my self. I like to go to the mall and shop. I like to eat at Cascade pizza a lot. One more thing I am going to tell you about my self I like to ride my bike.
There is one more subject I want to tell you about. That is school I like school a lot. But my 4 favorites subject in school is P.E. because I like all the games there. The next thing I like in school is math because some time it is fun. Now there are 2 more things I am going to tell to you about. Another thing I am going to talk to you about is lunch. I like it a lot and I like to hang out with my friends.
  From,    xxx  

Dear Epal,

   Hi! My name is xxx. I liked to be called xxx. In this letter I am going to tell you all about myself.  I have tanish-white skin and Brownish- blonde hair and the blonde has stayed from the sun. My parents are divorced.  I have one brother who is 3.  I am athletic and smart. Those are some things you should know about me.
   My Best friends are; Becky, Liz, Heather, Stacey, and my brother Connor. I love Flowers. At my dad’s house right outside my bedroom is a garden.  My favorite color is plum perfect which is the color of my bedroom. I love butterflies and Dalmatians.  I like chocolate, spaghetti, corn, and orange juice. I also love sports. What are your favorites?
   In school I do good in math, spelling, reading, listening and technology. I like P.E. especially when it is soccer and gymnastics.  I can do a forward handspring, a cartwheel also a round off.  Our class is in a portable. I also play in strings class. I play the Viola. Those are the things I do in school.
Looking forward to getting an e-mail from your ePal,
xxxx

October-1-02
Hi E-pal,
 My name is xxx. I am a boy.  I have brown eyes, black hair, and I love to make people laugh. I have 1 sister. This was my little introduction. Could you send me a little introduction about you?
  I love to play Football, Basketball, and Baseball.  Those are my favorite sports. I also love to hang out with my friends. After school we go to the park to play Baseball.  My best friends are Jerome, Corey, Niki, and James.  I like to play video games. My favorite is WWF NO MERCY. It is a really cool game.  If you play it you will probably like it. This is what I like to do. What do you like to do?
   School is really fun! At recess I play football.  I play football with all my friends. We usually always win or we get into a tie game. My favorite subject is P.E.  My P.E teacher is Mr. Man. We will start Football this week.  We have P.E 3 times a week.  It is the best.  I really don’t like math because I think it is boring.  But it was not boring typing this letter to you. It was really FUN! I hope you type back.
Sincerely,
 xxxx