{"id":10350,"date":"2022-12-05T15:00:33","date_gmt":"2022-12-05T22:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/?p=10350"},"modified":"2023-11-26T14:03:06","modified_gmt":"2023-11-26T21:03:06","slug":"friendly-letter-writing-activities-for-2nd-grade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/friendly-letter-writing-activities-for-2nd-grade\/","title":{"rendered":"Friendly Letter Activities for 2nd Grade Students"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>How do you teach your students how to write friendly letters? In this post I\u2019ll share fun friendly letter activities that will help your students learn the parts of a letter, how to write a friendly letter, and how to address an envelope to mail a letter.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Inside this post you\u2019ll find:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How to write a friendly letter<\/li>\n<li>The parts of a letter<\/li>\n<li>The purpose of writing friendly letters<\/li>\n<li>Friendly letter topics<\/li>\n<li>An example of a friendly letter<\/li>\n<li>Learn the journey of a letter once it is mailed<\/li>\n<li>A list of friendly letter writing ideas<\/li>\n<li>Friendly letter lesson plans<\/li>\n<li>Letter writing templates<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are a multitude of social and emotional <a href=\"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/2022\/11\/teaching-kids-to-write-friendly-letters-the-social-emotional-benefits.html\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">benefits to teaching students to write friendly letters<\/a>. But the biggest academic benefit I\u2019ve seen is that writing letters helps students become better writers by making them better storytellers.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-10358\" src=\"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Friendly-Letter-Activities-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Article with friendly letter activities and lesson plans\" width=\"572\" height=\"322\" data-pin-title=\"Friendly letter writing activities\" data-pin-description=\"Here my favorite friendly letter activities that are easy and fun for teaching your students how to write friendly letters. Find links to lesson plans, a teaching PowerPoint, and letter writing templates that are designed for 2nd and 3rd grade students.\"><\/p>\n<h2>What is a Friendly Letter?<\/h2>\n<p>A friendly letter is a personal, informal letter you would write to a friend, a family member, a peer, or someone else you know. You may also write a friendly letter to teachers, neighbors, and pen pals.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What is the purpose of a friendly letter?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>You can write a friendly letter for a lot of different reasons. Most often they are written to say hello, ask a question, thank someone, invite them somewhere, or to inform them of something. Friendly letters can also be written to congratulate someone, send best wishes, or to share a story.<\/p>\n<p><strong>An Example of a Friendly Letter<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Here is an example of a friendly letter. For which purpose was this letter written?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Friendly-Letter-Unit-8543671?utm_source=BLOG%20POST&amp;utm_campaign=Friendly%20Letter%20Activities%20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-10370\" src=\"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/example-of-a-friendly-letter-1024x791.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"652\" height=\"504\" data-pin-title=\"Friendly letter activities for 2nd grade\" data-pin-description=\"Friendly letter PowerPoint lesson\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Purpose of a friendly letter PowerPoint lesson (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Friendly-Letter-Unit-8543671?utm_source=BLOG%20POST&amp;utm_campaign=Friendly%20Letter%20Activities%20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">source<\/a>)<\/p>\n<h2>Friendly Letter Topics<\/h2>\n<p>By writing letters students learn manners and polite ways to address people. These are some of the topics most often written about in a friendly letter.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Thanking someone<\/li>\n<li>Inviting a friend<\/li>\n<li>Apologizing to a friend<\/li>\n<li>Sending a reminder to someone<\/li>\n<li>Requesting help or information<\/li>\n<li>Congratulating a friend<\/li>\n<li>Wishing someone a speedy recovery or a happy birthday<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How to Write a Friendly Letter<\/h2>\n<p>This kid-friendly <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/ctCaLQDWs1Q\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\"><strong>How to Write a Letter video<\/strong><\/a> made by the United States Postal Service (USPS) is a great one to share with your students. Students learn how to write a friendly letter a friend or a family member, how to address an envelope, how to mail a letter, and the journey a letter takes after being sent, through the post office, and delivered&nbsp; by a mail carrier!<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How to Write a Friendly Letter\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ctCaLQDWs1Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The United States Postal Service website has some interesting articles and a fun <a href=\"https:\/\/about.usps.com\/holidaynews\/letters-from-santa.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">Letters to Santa Program<\/a> during the holidays.<\/p>\n<p>The US Postal Service also has a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/uspstv\/custom\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">USPS YouTube Channel<\/a> with lots of videos you may want to use in the classroom.<\/p>\n<h2>Parts of a Letter and Friendly Letter Example<\/h2>\n<p>A friendly letter has five parts:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>date<\/li>\n<li>greeting<\/li>\n<li>body<\/li>\n<li>closing<\/li>\n<li>signature<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Each part adds important information to the letter. The date tells when the letter was written. The greeting is where you say hello or greet the person you are writing to.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Friendly-Letter-Unit-8543671?utm_source=BLOG%20POST&amp;utm_campaign=Friendly%20Letter%20Activities%20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-10364\" src=\"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/parts-of-a-letter-diagram-1024x791.jpg\" alt=\"Parts of a letter and friendly letter PowerPoint lesson\" width=\"597\" height=\"461\" data-pin-title=\"Friendly letter PowerPoint\" data-pin-description=\"Friendly letter PowerPoint lesson about parts of a letter with a diagram.\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Parts of a letter PowerPoint lesson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Friendly-Letter-Unit-8543671?utm_source=BLOG%20POST&amp;utm_campaign=Friendly%20Letter%20Activities%20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">(source)<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Every letter has a body. The body is where you write the main message of the letter. A letter\u2019s closing comes after the main message at the end of the letter. It is where you say goodbye to the person you are writing to.<\/p>\n<p>Then finally, after the closing the writer signed the letter in what we call the signature.<\/p>\n<p>One thing I teach my students to do is to ask questions in their letter or at least end their letter with a question. That way the recipient has something to say when they respond to the letter and write back to the sender.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Friendly-Letter-Unit-8543671?utm_source=BLOG%20POST&amp;utm_campaign=Friendly%20Letter%20Activities%20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-10371\" src=\"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/friendly-letter-example-1024x791.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"451\" data-pin-title=\"Friendly letter activities for 2nd grade\" data-pin-description=\"Friendly letter PowerPoint lesson\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Friendly letter PowerPoint lesson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Friendly-Letter-Unit-8543671?utm_source=BLOG%20POST&amp;utm_campaign=Friendly%20Letter%20Activities%20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">(source)<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Fun Friendly Letter Activities &amp; Writing Ideas<\/h2>\n<p>This list is just a small number of ways you can have your students write letters.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Write Friday Letters to families and caregivers<\/li>\n<li>Write reminder letters to families and caregivers about upcoming conferences<\/li>\n<li>Make a list of letter-writing ideas with your students<\/li>\n<li>Write a letter to your future self in ten years<\/li>\n<li>Become pen pals with another class<\/li>\n<li>Write letters to favorite authors<\/li>\n<li>Write a letter to someone an invite them to speak to or teach something to your class<\/li>\n<li>Write to companies to thank, inform, or persuade them to do something.<\/li>\n<li>Write a letter to the company that makes your favorite toy or a restaurant that makes your favorite food telling them why you like it.<\/li>\n<li>Write thank you letters to volunteers, visitors, and school staff<\/li>\n<li>Write to the mayor of your town about an idea you have that will improve something in your city<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Write letters to a favorite author<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This is an example of one of the letters students wrote to our favorite author, Tomie dePaola, during our <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Tomie-dePaola-Author-Study-241368\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">Tomie dePaola author study<\/a><\/strong>. Students make <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Tomie-dePaola-Author-Study-241368\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\"><strong>Strega Nona Cottage Booklets<\/strong><\/a> to hold their letters before sending them off to Tomie dePaola.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-10372\" src=\"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/letters-to-Tomie-dePaola-inside-Strega-Nona-booklets-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"415\" height=\"537\" data-pin-title=\"Letters to Tomie dePaola\"><\/p>\n<h3>Write Friday Letters to Families and Care Givers<\/h3>\n<p>One way I keep parents, families, and caregivers connected to my clasroom is by having my students write Friday Letters. Writing these weekly letters helps to <a href=\"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/2016\/08\/fostering-home-school-connection.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">foster a home and school connection<\/a> and I gain valuable insight about my students and they gain <a href=\"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/2022\/11\/teaching-kids-to-write-friendly-letters-the-social-emotional-benefits.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">social, emotional, and academic benefits<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Friendly Letter Lesson Plans<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Friendly-Letter-Unit-8543671?utm_source=BLOG%20POST&amp;utm_campaign=Friendly%20Letter%20Activities%20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-10357\" src=\"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/friendly-letter-activities-worksheets-writing-templates-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Friendly letters teaching unit with worksheets, activities, lesson plans and PowerPoint\" width=\"642\" height=\"642\" data-pin-title=\"Friendly letter unit\" data-pin-description=\"This complete friendly letter writing unit with PowerPoint lessons on parts of a letter, how to write a friendly letter, examples of friendly letters, worksheets and more.\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you need detailed, ready to use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Friendly-Letter-Unit-8543671?utm_source=BLOG%20POST&amp;utm_campaign=Friendly%20Letter%20Activities%20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">friendly letter lesson plans<\/a> I&#8217;ve created a no-prep, easy to teach unit that includes everything you need&nbsp; to teach a unit on writing friendly letters.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Friendly-Letter-Unit-8543671?utm_source=BLOG%20POST&amp;utm_campaign=Friendly%20Letter%20Activities%20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-10376\" src=\"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Slide2-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"495\" height=\"495\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>The unit includes<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>minilessons on PowerPoint<\/li>\n<li>parts of a letter posters<\/li>\n<li>friendly letter worksheets<\/li>\n<li>interactive notebook pages<\/li>\n<li>letter writing templates<\/li>\n<li>task cards<\/li>\n<li>friendly letter writing assessment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>See the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Friendly-Letter-Unit-8543671?utm_source=BLOG%20POST&amp;utm_campaign=Friendly%20Letter%20Activities%20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\"><strong>friendly letter teaching unit<\/strong><\/a> in my TPT shop!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Friendly-Letter-Unit-8543671?utm_source=BLOG%20POST&amp;utm_campaign=Friendly%20Letter%20Activities%20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-10377\" src=\"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Slide1-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"505\" height=\"505\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Free Letter Writing Templates<\/h2>\n<p>Start writing Friday letters with your students! Grab this FREE Friday Letters starter kit with letter writing templates, book covers, and editable parent letter.<\/p>\n<div class=\"convertkit-form wp-block-convertkit-form\" style=\"\"><script async data-uid=\"54e0e8209a\" src=\"https:\/\/red-sunset-7917.kit.com\/54e0e8209a\/index.js\" data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" data-no-defer=\"1\" nowprocket><\/script><\/div>\n<p>Try these friendly letter writing activities with your students to help them build social skills and become better writers. Save this post for when you plan your letter writing unit!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-10360\" src=\"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Friendly-letter-writing-activities-for-2nd-grade-569x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Article about friendly letter activities, lesson plans and friendly letter PowerPoint\" width=\"222\" height=\"400\" data-pin-title=\"Friendly letter activities\" data-pin-description=\"Here my favorite friendly letter activities that help build social skills in my students. These no-prep activities are easy and fun for teaching your students how to write friendly letters. Find links to lesson plans, a teaching PowerPoint, and letter writing templates that are designed for 2nd and 3rd grade students.\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How do you teach your students how to write friendly letters? In this post I\u2019ll share fun friendly letter activities that will help your students learn the parts of a letter, how to write a friendly letter, and how to address an envelope to mail a letter.&nbsp; Inside this post you\u2019ll find: How to write [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[63,64,3564,65],"tags":[3582,175],"class_list":{"0":"post-10350","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-writing","8":"category-back-to-school","9":"category-grammar","10":"category-reading","11":"tag-friendly-letters","12":"tag-writing","13":"entry"},"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":63,"label":"Writing"},{"value":64,"label":"Back to School"},{"value":3564,"label":"Grammar"},{"value":65,"label":"Reading"}],"post_tag":[{"value":3582,"label":"friendly letters"},{"value":175,"label":"writing"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Friendly-Letter-Activities-scaled-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Linda Kamp","author_link":"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/author\/linda\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":63,"name":"Writing","slug":"writing","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":63,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":27,"filter":"raw","meta":[],"cat_ID":63,"category_count":27,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Writing","category_nicename":"writing","category_parent":0},{"term_id":64,"name":"Back to School","slug":"back-to-school","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":64,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":66,"filter":"raw","meta":[],"cat_ID":64,"category_count":66,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Back to School","category_nicename":"back-to-school","category_parent":0},{"term_id":3564,"name":"Grammar","slug":"grammar","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3564,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":37,"filter":"raw","meta":[],"cat_ID":3564,"category_count":37,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Grammar","category_nicename":"grammar","category_parent":0},{"term_id":65,"name":"Reading","slug":"reading","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":65,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":57,"filter":"raw","meta":[],"cat_ID":65,"category_count":57,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Reading","category_nicename":"reading","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":3582,"name":"friendly letters","slug":"friendly-letters","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3582,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw","meta":[]},{"term_id":175,"name":"writing","slug":"writing","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":175,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":37,"filter":"raw","meta":[]}],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Friendly-Letter-Activities-scaled.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Friendly-Letter-Activities-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroundthekampfire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}