Classroom Ideas to Celebrate Universal Letter Writing Week

by Elizabeth Tricquet
It may seem old-fashioned due to modern technology, but there is a certain excitement to receiving a letter in the mail. In addition to spreading joy, letter writing can be a valuable instructional tool. With Universal Letter Writing Week arriving in the second week of January, we are reflecting on the value of letter writing tasks and how to incorporate them into the classroom to support learning.
Benefits of Writing Tasks
One of the benefits of letter writing is the opportunity for handwriting practice, which is commonly deprioritized, especially after early elementary school. But all students, no matter their age, can benefit from tasks that require handwritten responses. Unlike typing, handwritten responses have been shown to engage the motor and visual parts of the brain that support learning. This synchronization of the motor and visual information aids memory formation, which is critical to learning. Some scientists believe that the more time-consuming act of physically writing words gives learners the time their brains need to process the information. This processing time leads to improved conceptual understanding and learning.
Letter writing in general, whether by hand or using technology, helps students improve their communication skills, organize their thoughts, practice proper sentence structure and grammar, create focus on the purpose of the communication, and can support the development of empathy, gratitude, and self-advocacy.
Adding Letter Writing to the Curriculum
What are some creative ways to incorporate writing in the curriculum? One way is writing letters. Here are some ideas to do so:
- The ending of one year and the beginning of another is a period that fosters reflection and gratitude. Read the book Dear Street by Lindsay Zier-Vogel to your class. The book is about Alice, who writes love letters to all the things in her neighborhood that people complain about—a tree dropping leaves on the ground or the construction on the street to fix potholes. These letters cause Alice’s neighbors to see what is magical about their neighborhood. After reading the book together, ask students to write a letter to something in their school or neighborhood that they are thankful for. Students can share their letters with each other.
- To boost comprehension, after reading a literary text, have students write a letter to a character in the text. Students can ask the character questions or reflect on the character’s experiences in the text. This activity requires students to think about characterization, plot, and point of view in a text—all of which are important reading comprehension skills.
- After a field trip, students can write a letter to the venue thanking them for the opportunity to visit and explaining what they enjoyed most about the experience.
- At the end of a grading period, students can write letters home reflecting on their learning. Students can detail what they are the proudest of, where they see opportunities for growth, and what they want to accomplish in the future. This activity encourages communication between the students and caregivers as it fosters student ownership in their learning.
Letter writing is an engaging way to help boost student reading comprehension and to support reflection all of which improves students learning.
About the author
Elizabeth Tricquet has over two decades of experience in education. In her current role as Lead Learning Designer at Edmentum, Elizabeth is passionate about developing effective, high-quality resources for students and teachers.
Elizabeth has worked at Edmentum since 2016 in a variety of positions including Content Designer, Assessment Specialist, and Learning Designer. She has worked on a variety of products including Exact Path, Study Island, and Benchmark Assessments.
Prior to working at Edmentum, Elizabeth had nearly 10 years of experience in the classroom teaching grades 1, 3, and 4 with a focus on helping struggling readers and students with learning difficulties. While teaching, Elizabeth earned her National Board Certification for Early and Middle Grades Literacy. She then worked at the Florida Department of Education's Test Development Center as an ELA Content Specialist. During that time, Elizabeth worked on state-wide summative assessments.