The art of letter writing is not lost. A handwritten letter can speak volumes over a text message or email. It can require more effort compared to digital forms of communication, but it’s worth it for the sentimentality factor. We’ve compiled a list of 19 student writing prompts and exercises to inspire fun letter writing. Most activities are suitable for all ages and can be adjusted accordingly.
1. Anchor Chart
Anchor charts can serve as an excellent reminder about the basic components of letter writing. You can hang a large version on your classroom wall and have your students create their own smaller versions in their notebooks.
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2. Letter to Family
Do your students have family that lives far away? Most family members would probably be excited to receive a personal letter in the mail regardless of where they live. Your students can write and send a letter to check in with a family member.
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3. Thank You Letter
There are so many people in our community who deserve thanks. This includes teachers, school bus drivers, parents, babysitters, and more. Your students can write a handwritten letter of gratitude to someone they appreciate.
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4. Friendly Letter Writing Task Cards
Sometimes, deciding who to write to and the type of letter to write can be difficult. Your students can randomly select a friendly letter task card to guide their writing. Example tasks include writing to your teacher, a community helper, and others.
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5. Letter to the Big, Bad Wolf
This fun letter-writing prompt incorporates the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. Your students can write to the villain of the story- the Big, Bad Wolf. What would they say to the Big, Bad Wolf about his questionable actions?
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6. Letter to the Tooth Fairy
Here’s another fairy tale character that your students can write to; the Tooth Fairy. Do your students have any questions for her or the magical land of missing teeth? If you have some free time, you can write letters to return to your students from the Tooth Fairy.
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7. Invitation Letter
Invitations are another type of letter that you can integrate into your letter-writing lesson plans. These can be useful for events like birthday parties or royal balls. Your students can write an invitation that includes the location, time, and what to bring.
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8. Letter To Your Future Self
Where do your students see themselves in 20 years? They can write a handwritten letter to their future selves detailing their hopes and expectations. For inspiration, watch the impact that this activity had on former students of a teacher who returned their letters 20 years later.
Learn More: CBC News
9. Secret Coded Letter
Secret codes can inspire some fun handwriting activities. One example is to write out two rows of alphabet letters in order. Then, your students can exchange the top and bottom alphabet letters to write their secret coded messages. There are more complex codes at the link below.
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10. DIY Painted Postcards
These DIY postcards can form part of an informal letter-writing activity. Your students can decorate postcard-sized cardboard with colored markers, paint, and stickers. They can complete their postcard by writing a message for the recipient.
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11. Dearest Lovebug Persuasive Letter
This love-themed letter exercise is great for practicing persuasive writing skills. It also includes a cute lovebug coloring craft. Your students can write to the lovebug about why they should bring your students something they love.
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12. Descriptive Environment Letter
Your students can work on their descriptive writing skills with this letter task. They can write a detailed description of the environment they are writing from. This can include what they can see outside the window, what they can hear, what they can smell, and more.
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13. Descriptive Daily Life Letter
You can add to your descriptive writing practice by including a task to write letters about your students’ daily lives. From dawn to dusk, your students can describe the different aspects of their daily lives.
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14. Cursive Letter Writing
Let’s not forget about one of the artistic aspects of handwriting; cursive. If you’re teaching a class of 4th-grade students or higher, you can consider tasking your students to write a letter using only cursive letters.
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15. Letter of Complaint Worksheet
If you’re teaching older students, they might be ready for formal letter writing. These are usually more difficult and require greater detail than informal letters. They can begin with this two-page letter of complaint worksheet. They can answer comprehension questions, fill in the blanks, and more.
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16. Letter of Complaint
Following the worksheet activity, your students can write their own formal letters of complaint. Give them some creative complaint ideas to choose from. For example, the complaint could be about an imaginary boyfriend/girlfriend with the letter ultimately turning into a break-up letter.
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17. Address An Envelope
If you’re going to mail out your class letters, then your students can learn the proper format for addressing envelopes. This letter exercise might be a first-time attempt for some students and a great refresher for others.
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18. The Great Mail Race
Imagine if your students could connect with classes across the country. Well, they can! This kit makes it easy. Your students can draft friendly letters to send to other schools. They can include state-specific questionnaires for the classes to complete and return.
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19. Read “Ten Thank-You Letters”
This is one of the many charming books for children about letter writing. While Rabbit writes several thank you letters to people across the country, Pig writes a single letter to his grandma. This story demonstrates how different personalities can come together to make beautiful friendships.
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