Teach children how to write an informal letter with this Key Stage 1 text types resource pack. Pupils will write an informal letter to a friend, thanking them for a present received or writing to a friend who has moved away.
Two model texts are included, showing WAGOLL (what a good one looks like), to inspire writing and provide examples of informal letters. Pupils will then write their own letters using planning sheets to support their writing. Their letters could be based on real events, ones that are imagined or linked to a book that pupils are familiar with. Two model texts are included to inspire writing.
What is included in this Key Stage 1 resources pack?
An example informal letter written by a child to her best friend, thanking them for their birthday present
- Model text 2 - See you soon!
An example informal letter written by a child to a school friend who has moved away.
- Informal letters writing sheet
A PDF containing success criteria that pupils can use to support their writing. It includes examples of co-ordinating conjunctions, contracted words and using capital letters for proper nouns and the pronoun ‘I’.
- Informal letter idea cards
A series of cards with suggested reasons to write to friends or a family member.
- Informal letter writing plan
This letter writing template allows pupils to plan their letter, recording who thy are writing to and why.
A PDF sheet that pupils could use to present their work.
What is an informal letter?
An informal letter is a personal letter written to people the writer knows well, such as friends and family, to tell them what is going on in their life or to send their regards or thanks.
The language used is informal and casual.
National Curriculum English programme of study links:
Year 1
- Pupils will write sentences by saying out loud what they are writing about and composing sentences orally before writing
- Pupils will be taught to use a capital letter for names of people, places, the days of the week and the personal pronoun ‘I’
- Pupils will be taught to join words and join clauses using the ‘and’
Year 2
- Pupils should write for a range of purposes
- Pupils should consider what they are going to write about before beginning by planning or saying out loud what they are going to write about
- Pupils will learn how to use ... co-ordination (using or, and, or but)
- Pupils should be taught to spell by learning to spell more words with contracted forms