Colonial America Friendly Letter



Colonial America Friendly Letter

You have traveled back in time to Colonial America, the late 1600s/early 1700s. You have been in the New World for 3 months and have decided to write a letter to your family and friends back in Europe telling them about your new life. You will work with a classmate to complete the research part of this project; however, each of you will develop your own letter and will be graded independently.

You and your partner will research one specific colony. We will work on the research in the Library. You will have 2 class periods to complete this, but additional research may be done outside of school. Together, you will research the following areas so that your letter will be historically accurate:

❖ Who settled your colony? Why? How?

❖ Daily life in the colony

❖ Jobs of colonists

❖ Economy (how people made money)

❖ Towns and communities

❖ Schools

❖ Hobbies

Next, you will create a Character Biography (see attached page). What is your name? Are you an adult or a child? What is your job? This biography will help you get into character, and to imagine living in Colonial times.

Using this information, you will create a letter (at least 1 full page in length) to a friend or family member back home in Europe. Your letter should address the following areas:

✓ Date (remember it is not 2011)

✓ Description of a normal day in your colony

✓ Description of your home and community in the colony

✓ News about your family

✓ An issue of concern

✓ A source of excitement

✓ At least 2 questions

All items will be due on __________________________________________.

In addition to your final, proofread letter, you must turn in your Character Biography and rubric on the due date.

All late assignments will lose 10% for each day they are late.

Fill in this page prior to writing your letter. Use the information from your research to create your Colonial character. This will be the voice from which you write your friendly letter.

CHARACTER BIOGRAPHY

1. Character’s name: _________________________________________

2. Age: ___________________________________________________

3. Position in family: _________________________________________

4. Names of other family members: ______________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Job: ___________________________________________________

6. Responsibilities at home: ____________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. Personality characteristics: __________________________________

_______________________________________________________

8. Favorite hobbies: __________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

9. Interesting life experiences: _________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Who are you writing your letter to? ____________________________

_______________________________________________________

Friendly Letter Format

  (Date) September 19, 1650

Dear Anne, (Greeting)

(Body)

The first paragraph of a friendly letter usually contains a brief greeting. Remember, you left home and haven’t seen this person in 3 months. What would you say? What is the tone of your letter? Are you happy or sad? This should be expressed from the beginning of your letter.

The next paragraphs express the main purpose of your letter. It should include the information found on your checklist. How can you incorporate the research you gathered about your colony and turn it into a realistic fiction letter? That is your major task.

Notice how I have written more than one paragraph? You may have several short paragraphs or a few longer paragraphs. Your letter should be well-organized, with information presented in a logical manner.  Oh, and don’t forget to indent!

The last paragraph sums up the topic of your letter and asks the reader to reply. Good luck!

Sincerely, (Closing)

Your name (Signature)

COLONIAL AMERICA FRIENDLY LETTER

RUBRIC

Name: ________________________________ Date: _____________

Grading Key:

4 = Exceeds the requirement

3 = Meets the requirement

2 = Makes some effort to meet the requirement, but with little success

1 = Does not meet the requirement

0 = Unscorable

|I was productive when researching in the Library. |4 3 2 1 0 |

|I used my time wisely and got much accomplished. | |

|I turned in all requirements of the assignment. | 3 2 1 0 |

|(Final friendly letter, character biography, rubric) | |

|My letter included all necessary parts of a friendly letter. | 3 2 1 0 |

|(Date, greeting, body, closing, signature) | |

|I addressed all areas of my life in the colony in my letter. |4 3 2 1 0 |

|(See checklist on page 1) | |

|Information included in my letter is historically accurate. |4 3 2 1 0 |

|My letter shows an understanding of Colonial life in my specific colony. |4 3 2 1 0 |

|I created an interesting character. |4 3 2 1 0 |

|I included information from my biography in the letter. | |

|I was able to make my story believable to the reader. | |

|Grammar, sentence structure and word choice are appropriate for my grade level. |4 3 2 1 0 |

|My letter is at least 1 neatly handwritten page in length. (Remember to write in ink!) |4 3 2 1 0 |

|My letter has been edited for punctuation. | 3 2 1 0 |

|My letter has been edited for spelling. | 3 2 1 0 |

Total Points: _____________ Score: _____________

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