Grade Level: 2nd
Content area: English Language Arts
Standard identifiers: L.2.2
Objectives: Students will:
- Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
- Use commas in greetings and closings of letters.
Assessment (informal):
- Write a letter to a health professional.
Strategies for English Language Learners and Learners with Special Needs:
- Provide several sentences for students to copy and form their own unique letters.
- Students can include a greeting and closing, with the body of the letter being an image with the words “Thank you.”
Materials and Resources:
Instructional Sequence:
Introduction and explanation to students about the purpose of the lesson (15 minutes)
- What do you do when you are really sick? Who helps you? (family, doctors, nurses) These people are important in our lives. They help our community in many ways. Today we are going to learn about one important doctor in Ventura’s history and then write a letter to health professionals that help us today.
- Show selected portions of the Microsoft Sway presentation on MVC’s Virtual Learning Module #5: Doctors and Medical Health Professionals. Suggested portions are parts 1, 3, 4, and 5 (suggested to skip part 2 about the Civil War). Emphasize the contributions of Cephas Bard and the ways he interacted with the community.
Monitoring for student learning/understanding:
- Make sure students are using correct punctuation (commas and periods), spelling and capitalization.
Teacher modeling (5 minutes)
- Show students the sample letter on MVC’s Virtual Learning Module #5: Doctors and Medical Health Professionals page below Activity #1. Point out the use of capitalizations, the greeting, and the closing.
Guided practice (5 minutes)
- Provide students with suggested greetings and closings. Ask students what they would like to say to their community’s health or medical professionals and provide key words.
Practice (independent) (15 minutes)
- Students write their own letters to community health/medical professionals.
Closure (5 minutes)
Students can share their letters. Select a local hospital or clinic and deliver the letters.
Take reflection notes on how the lesson went for your future reference.
