Writing Letters in 2nd!

Hello! It's Tara from Looney's Literacy again! I'm so happy to be back and sharing how we've been practicing writing letters in second grade.

In this digital age, friendly letter writing is slowly becoming a lost art. I know that e-mails, texts and instant messaging have replaced most of my own letter writing. This kind of makes me sad. I think it's important to have this skill. Even if it is becoming obsolete it is still a form of writing that  kids should know. When I teach writing of any kind I always include mentor texts. This is important in stressing that reading and writing are reciprocal.  Some fun mentor texts for letter writing include:

The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters is a sweet story of a postman who delivers mail to some very familiar storybook characters. Every other page is an envelope that contains each letter he delivers.  This is perfect for teaching different purposes for letter writing and how to address an envelope. 

Dear Mr. Blueberry is a great way one to share about friendly letters! Emily is very eager to share that she has a whale, in the pond in her yard,  with her teacher. Mr. Blueberry responds to her letters and lets her know that this is not possible but Emily continues to insist that there is until the end. 

Punctuation Takes a Vacation has several great opportunities to learn new things. It has a fun way of learning how punctuation works and gives examples of how postcards work. It's a win-win! 

With Valentine's Day right around the corner it's the perfect time to practice letter writing! 

I've put together this little treat to make your Valentine's Day sweet!