Even in the age of texting and emailing, teaching students how to write letters is still an essential skill. By writing friendly letters, students are able to express themselves, foster social-emotional skills, and of course practice the technical skill of writing. To make your unit as engaging as possible, here are fun picture books and videos all about writing letters!
Picture Books about Writing Friendly Letters in Elementary
This may be one of my favorite writing units to teach as the books are so good! I try to make time to read every one of this list during our friendly letter writing unit!
1. The Day the Crayons Quit
by Drew Daywalt
The Day the Crayons Quit is always a fan favorite in my classroom! It’s a hilarious story told from the point of view of individual crayons who are on strike.
They each write their own letter to their owner, Duncan, explaining their specific reasons for quitting.
2. I Wanna Iguana
by Karen Kaufman Orloff
Alex works hard to convince his mom that he needs a baby iguana. Through the use of back-and-forth letters, Alex tries to persuade his mom to agree. It’s a great introduction to letter writing and persuasive writing.
Your students will love the bright and colorful pictures and absurd reasons.
3. Dear Mrs. LaRue
by Mark Teague
Dear Mrs. LaRue is told from the perspective of a dog sent away to obedience school.
Every year, my students laugh at the dramatics of this dog and it’s a great segue into writing our own letter writing.
4. Dear Mr. Blueberry
by Simon James
This short and sweet book follows a student’s letters to her teacher while on summer vacation.
It’s a lighthearted story that highlights the importance of imagination while also giving true facts about whales. It’s the perfect mixture of fiction and nonfiction!
5. Can I Be Your Dog
by Troy Cummings
Through the use of vibrant illustrations, Can I Be Your Dog is the perfect addition to your writing letters book collection.
Not only is it a heartwarming story (the dog-lover in me adores it), but it does a great job showing a variety of different letters through the dog’s hunt for a new owner. Plus, it has the happiest ending!
6. The Thank You Letter
by Jane Cabrera
Last, but certainly not least, The Thank You Letter is a must for this writing unit. It’s different than the rest as it doesn’t cover persuasive letters, but rather thank you letters.
The main character shows gratitude to everyone who attended her birthday party through the use of specific and meaningful thank-you notes.
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Videos about Writing Friendly Letters for Elementary Students
To meet the needs of all your learners, videos can be a wonderful tool! The following videos about writing friendly letters do a great job showing the process and parts of a letter.
1. How to Write a Friendly Letter
I love this video because it comes right from USPS TV! It uses fun animated characters where the USPS employee answers a classroom’s questions.
She covers different types of letters, a brief how-to, and even how to send the letters.
2. Writing a Friendly Letter
This informative video is just over 10 minutes long and could work as the perfect review for your friendly letters unit.
It’s not as engaging as the first video, but the speaker does a great job labeling all the parts and steps to writing a letter.
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3. Parts of Letter
Very similar to the above video, the speaker in this video walks through the process of letter writing using a presentation.
It’s a bit shorter, so it may be a good choice if you know your class has a hard time staying engaged.
4. Parts of a Letter Song
I love a good catchy tune to help students master a concept! These 5 teachers sing the Parts of a Letter song to the tune of The Adams Family theme song!
Beware! It may be stuck in your head for the rest of the day.
Lesson Plans for Writing Friendly Letters
There are a multitude of social and emotional benefits to teaching students to write friendly letters. But the biggest academic benefit I’ve seen is that writing letters helps students become better writers by making them better storytellers.
If you are looking for more friendly letter resources, activities, or lesson plans to teach about writing friendly letters, be sure to check out my complete friendly letter writing unit with 6 easy-to-use lessons.
How do you teach your students about writing friendly letters? Visit these posts to learn the social emotional and academic benefits of teaching kids to write letters even in this digital age! You’ll also find 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.
Happy writing!
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