Sunday, August 2, 2015

Writing a letter to a Representative

For U.S. History I teachers, especially those in Massachusetts who are also responsible for teaching civics, we have a major section of the curriculum that is more authentic for students.  The whole civics portion of the class lends itself to relate the structure and basic concepts of our government to current events or things that affect the lives of students on a current and personal basis.

One way to make this unit even more personal is to give students an assessment in which they create their own business letter about an issue that they are passionate about, and to send that letter by mail or email to the proper government official.  The draw for the students is that it can be about any legitimate issue that they are concerned about, from animal rights to making banning smoking.  The connection to the civics curriculum is that students must address the issue to a representative who can actually do something about it.  In this sense, students are getting an authentic lesson on concurrent powers and the three domains of government (Federal, State, and Local).

It also teaches students how to write a proper business letter.  Here is a site that can help serve as an example to students.  I am also attaching a link to a model letter that I share with students (though mine goes on too long of course, curse of being a history teacher).

Purdue OWL help on writing a business letter:

Mr. Wright's example of a letter:

1 comment:

  1. This is such a wonderful way to get teenagers engaged in government affairs. I think sometimes having no experience writing letters to government dignitaries makes people afraid to ever do it. This is wonderful exposure to get students involved!

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