|
Letter to a friend
Title: Letter to a friend
Topic: Expressing thoughts and emotions
Level: Intermediate
Focus Age Group: 16 to 18 years
National Standards Goals:
Communication Cultures Connections Comparisons Communities
Communicative Mode:
Interpersonal Interpretive Presentational
NJ cumulative Progress indicators:
- 7.1.8 Create and respond to simple phrases, questions, and sentences
- 7.1.17 Communicate and interact in a limited range of task-oriented and social situations
- 7.1.18 Respond to statements with increasing linguistic accuracy
Time frame: One 40-minute class period
Description of task:
One of your friends from camp has written you a letter. You have to answer this letter and express your thoughts, feelings and emotions (such as sympathy, sadness, happiness, hope, etc.) in reaction to her statements. Also,tell her what's new in your life since you last communicated.
Materials needed: Letter from friend, paper and pen.
Teacher's notes:
Distribute to each student the letter they are supposed to answer. Students have to write back to friend, responding and reacting accordingly. (Students will express emotions such as sympathy, surprise, happiness, hope, etc.)
Scoring criteria:
| Task completion |
| 4 |
Exceeds expectations;content appropriate; ideas extensively developed and well organized |
| 3 |
Meets expectations; content appropriate; ideas well developed; good organization |
| 2 |
Does not meet expectations; content mostly appropriate; ideas not fully developed and lacking in organization |
| 1 |
Minimal attempt to complete task; content not appropriate |
| |
| Comprehensibility of written expression |
| 4 |
Text readily comprehensible |
| 3 |
Text mostly comprehensible |
| 2 |
Text somewhat comprehensible |
| 1 |
Text barely comprehensible |
| |
| Vocabulary usage |
| 4 |
Appropriate and rich use of vocabulary with elaboration |
| 3 |
Appropriate use of vocabulary |
| 2 |
Some inappropriate use of vocabulary |
| 1 |
Inadequate or inappropriate use of vocabulary |
| |
| Accuracy |
| 4 |
Uses variety of structures with high level of accuracy |
| 3 |
Shows much effort to use language structures with accuracy |
| 2 |
Shows some effort to use language structures with accuracy |
| 1 |
Shows minimal or no effort to use language structures with accuracy |
Adaptations:
This activity can be adapted to any level, depending on what the teacher wants to elicit from students. It can be given as a homework assignment or as a reading comprehension (listing the problems mentioned in the letter).
Hilda A. Spevack
East Brunswick High School
380 Cranbury Road
East Brunswick, NJ 08816
732.613.6900
Perú , 15 de junio de 2000
Señorita... / Señor...
East Brunswick
Querida... / Querido...
Desde que volví de Nueva Jersey no hago más que pensar en los buenos ratos que pasamos durante el verano. Recuerdo las travesuras que les hicimos a nuestros amigos y me pongo a reír a solas, y lo que es más divertido es que mi familia piensa que estoy loca porque no saben de qué me río. He echado de menos a todos las personas tan simpáticas que conocí, pero ahora tengo muchas cosas que contarte. Poco después de que volví a casa papá se enfermó y tuvo que ir al hospital. Todos estábamos muy preocupados por su salud, pero afortunadamente ya está mejor. ¿Recuerdas la última vez que hablamos? Entonces te conté que mi novio estaba portándose un poco mal. Desde entonces hemos terminado y ahora él anda con otra. Bueno, creo que esto tenía que suceder. ¡Ahora las buenas noticias! Tengo un nuevo perrito que se llama Sancho y el próximo fin de semana mi familia y yo iremos a visitar parientes en Venezuela. Nunca he estado allí, así que tengo muchos deseos de ir. En la próxima te contaré de mi viaje.
Hasta pronto,
Teresita.
| 
Lesson plans and assessments contributed by Central Jersey World Languages Professional Development Institute 2000.
