How can you see what your students are thinking while they read? Try reading response letters in your class. Students will practice formatting letters and learn to discuss their thinking about literature in writing.

Help your students learn how to move smoothly between ideas and paragraphs using transition words and phrases. Young writers will use real texts as mentors as they study how authors use words to transition between ideas and support their claims. As a result, they will have a word bank to use in their own writing.

Walk your young writers through the letter-writing process, including formatting, drafting, and editing. Use the checklist to ensure that all of the important parts of the letter are included and the details are polished.

Enjoy fun games and activities while learning to craft varied sentences! Creating sentences is like playing with construction blocks. You can combine ideas by making compound sentences — and link descriptive phrases into them. Students enjoy fun games and activities while learning to make varied sentences.