Business Letters and Narrative Essays
Christel Hansen
Identification Information
Title of Unit
“Let Me Be Heard”: Enhancing Communication with the Written
Voice
Teacher Associate
Tracy Inaba
School
Vulcan County High School
Grade
9A (20 students) & 9B (23 students)
Total Number of Students
43
Dates of Unit
March 7-28 – calendar provided.
Wikipage URLs
http://languagearts-grade9a-vulcan.wikispaces.com/
http://languagearts-grade9b-vulcan.wikispaces.com/
OVERVIEW
I.D.E.A – Intentions, Display, Evaluation, Activities
Intentions (Goals, Objectives)
Type of Unit
 Combination (business letters and narrative essays).
Focus of Learning for Students
 Students will create a business letter for a company and topic of their interest.
 Students will create a narrative story/essay on a topic given by the teacher (to be developed).
 Students will create two Wikipages: one for their business letter and one for their narrative
essay.
Emphasis of Unit
 Collaboration
 Writing
 Representing
English Language Arts
Grade 9
1
Essential Questions
 How do you communicate clearly to persuade others?
 How can narrative essays be a meaningful form of writing?
Major Projects
 Business Letter Performance Task.
 Narrative Essay Performance Task.
Inclusion of the Strands of Language Arts
Reading
Writing
Speaking Listening Viewing
Representing






Reading peers’
writing for peerfeedback.
Reading “bellwork” writing
scenarios.
Business letter
Narrative Essay


Whole-class
discussion
Small-group
discussion
Listening response to
music.


Pictures for
creative writing
scenarios
Business letters
and narrative
essays on the
class Wikipage.

Student choice of topic
for the business letter
and essay.
Creative writing in
narrative essay.
Display (Resources)
Business Letter Handouts
 Business letter examples.
 Performance task.
 Checklist.
 Rubric.
 “BPDOG: The Body of a Business Letter” (Tracy Inaba)
 “BPDOG: Business Letter Writing Organizer” (Tracy Inaba)
Narrative Essay Handouts
 Performance task.
 Checklist.
 Rubric.
 More to be included.
Evaluation
Formative Assessments
 Sticky-note review questions.
 T/F spoons.
 Exit cards.
 Observations in class.
 Class discussions.
 Assessment of peer-feedback and student self-assessment.
 Conferencing with students.
English Language Arts
Grade 9
2
Summative Assessments
 Business letter.
 Narrative essay.
Activities (to be developed)

“Bell Work” Writing Exercises
o Life writing
o Music prompts (visual lyrics and/or audio songs)
o Visual writing prompts
o Written scenarios
“Dramatizing” Mini-Activities

I. Rationale
The main focus for this unit is the writing process for a business letter and narrative essay. For the
business letter, students will choose a company and topic of their interest – a real audience to write to.
One way in which this addresses the student’s needs is the fact that knowing how to write a business
letter is a grade 9 requirement for the Provincial Achievement Tests. This task addresses the students’
interests because they get to choose the business letter audience and topic. It also invites them to do
inquiry-based learning by researching about a company and creating a letter about a specific issue. I am
hoping that letting students choose a real audience to write to will motivate them to write an excellent
business letter.
For the narrative part of the unit, students will be required to write either a narrative story or
narrative essay on a topic. This topic is to be determined. The reason for my hesitation to pick one
topic is because I want to find one that is meaningful for the students. I feel that one will come to mind
once I get to know the students. I am going to send my unit plan draft to my TA to get feedback. I am
hoping to have some suggestions in regards to how to approach this part of the unit.
The business letter and narrative essay will be worked on and published on the grade 9 LA
Wikispace. I have decided to do this mainly for the following reasons:

Students will learn from their peers. Viewing other written work and providing peerfeedback to three or four classmates will help students be exposed to different writing
styles. I believe the students will be able to enhance their knowledge of writing techniques
and styles by being exposed to their peers’ work.
English Language Arts
Grade 9
3

Ease for peer-feedback. Students will be able to give feedback to peers with a simple click on
their Wikipage. Typing feedback to peers through a “discussion post” may be more effective,
as opposed to reading a hand-held copy of a student’s work and writing feedback by pen or
pencil. I believe that using digital technology in this manner is more engaging, for it is how
students in this digital generation learn. This online peer-feedback is essential for assessment
AS learning.

To enhance student voice and ownership. A digital space allows for a wider audience to read
the writer’s published work. (It should be noted that the Wikispace for this unit is set to
private – only those invited to the space can view the work published). Through personal
experiences with creating Wikipages, publishing work online for a wider audience to see is a
bit scary, to say the least. However, I found that publishing my work online for my peers gave
me initiative to do my best work and to develop confidence and take ownership in my
writing. I believe the grade nine students will be able to develop this as well.

To assess their writing process: As the teacher, I can access their written work online and
make observations about their writing progress. I can make adjustments to my lessons if I
see any common trends (such as the need to enhance voice, topic sentences, etc). In this
way, Wikispaces provides an assessment FOR learning. In the end, it will be assessment OF
learning, as their final product on the Wikispace will be assessed for marks using a rubric.
This content will connect with many ICT, PoS, and provincial curriculum outcomes. Using a
Wikispace to create and share students’ work addresses many ICT outcomes, which are detailed in the
“Lesson Plans and Activities” section. The main reason why the business letter and narrative essay
writing performance tasks were created is for the purposes of addressing the provincial curriculum
outcome for grade nine, which is the requirement of completing a Provincial Achievement Test. Along
with this, these tasks align with many PoS outcomes, especially those centered around 2.3 (understand
forms and genres) and 2.4 (create original text).
II. Resources/Materials




Alberta Program of Studies
Churches, Andrew. “Digital Bloom’s Taxonomy.” <http://goo.gl/s403>
Cislo, Joe. Personal Narrative Lesson Plan. <http://goo.gl/ZSb4G>
“Examples of the Standards for Students’ Writing: English Language Arts Grade 9”
o Functional Writing (2007)
o Narrative/Essay Writing (2009)
English Language Arts
Grade 9
4






Hewson, Kurtis. Templates: “Identify Desired Results”, “Determine Acceptable Evidence”, “Unit
Assessment Plan”, performance task, and rubric.
Inaba, Tracy. “BPDOG: The Body of a Business Letter.”
Inaba, Tracy. “BPDOG: Business Letter Writing Organizer.”
Keenan, Derek. “Moving from Technology Integration to True Digital Learning: A Presentation.”
<http://goo.gl/M2oqs>
“Senior High School English Language Arts (2003): Guide to Implementation” - Appendix A: Unit
Planning Tools, Ideas and Examples.
“Write a Formal Letter in a Persuasive Style.” <goo.gl/C6amL>
Lesson Plans and Activities
Introduction
Business Letter Introduction (to be developed)
1. Pre-assessment: Have students search under the desks for “sticky-note
questions.”
 What is a business letter?
 Why are business letters important?
 What makes a business letter effective?
 What are parts of a business letter? How do we remember the parts of
a business letter? (BPDOG)
2. Show contemporary examples of business letters (humorous, persuasive
letters etc.) Discuss their observations about these letters: what features are
common?
3. Create a class letter. Give them a choice of real-world scenarios to choose
from. Send the letter. This will model business letter writing and will
transition into the performance task that will be explained. Doing a class
letter also provides an opportunity for the teacher to model navigation of the
Wikipage.
Narrative Essay Introduction (to be developed)
1. Brainstorm: what makes a good story? Target writing components include:
organization, focus, voice, supporting details, interesting use of language, etc.
2. Explaining “narrative”: like a snapshot. Share a personal photograph and ask
table groups to generate a story based on that photo. Note how each group
has a different approach – we each have different “snapshots” of life. We
each have our own perspective, story. To help readers visualize events from a
snapshot we have to provide detail.
3. Life-writing exercises. Arrange the tables so that it makes a horse-shoe (to
encourage classroom community). Ask them to think about school (a very
general topic). They have to free-write for 5-7 minutes about this topic. Write
with the students. Give the following questions as guidelines:
 What do you see? What do you hear? What do you feel? Describe in
detail your school snapshot.
4. As if anyone wants to share (utilize wait-time!) Share your work. For those
English Language Arts
Grade 9
5
that do share, discuss that person’s main idea, descriptive language,
organization, supporting details, etc.
Developmental/On-Going
Culminating
Extension – Enrichment Special Considerations –
Differentiated Instruction
“Bell Work” Writing Exercises
Every afternoon class will begin with “bell work” writing exercises. Tracy Inaba
describes “bell work” as work for students to work on to get them settled for class. I
want to continue my teacher associate’s practice of giving the grade nine students
writing scenarios for them to write about for 7-10 minutes. I will provide a variety of
exemplars for them to free-write about (written or aural song lyrics, pictures,
situations, etc.) Students will also have the opportunity to share their work. I believe
this writing process is integral to the narrative writing requirement for the PAT.
Business Letter and Narrative Essay
These performance tasks will be developed over many classes (as shown in the
calendar). I will provide guidance by focusing on writing focal points (voice, enhancing
arguments, etc) at the start of class and have students to continue their writing on the
Wikipage. Instructional scaffolding will be made with formative assessment evidence
(exit cards, Wikipage progress, and conferencing).
To be discussed.
There are a lot of K&E students in grade
9 LA. The higher-ended students who
finish their work early can mentor guide
the students who are struggling with the
writing process. As demonstrated from
the “Learning Pyramid” to the right,
retention of knowledge is more effective
if peers teach others (Hewson, Lecture &
Powerpoint). Furthermore, appropriate
scaffolding will be addressed once I get
to know and understand the students.
For example, I will create a variety of organizers for the students to plan their writing.
This can help them to understand and apply specific concepts, such as topic
sentences, voice, main idea, etc.
Connections to Other Areas of
Curriculum and/or Other
Language Units
ICT Outcomes, Division III
C.1 - Students will access, use and communicate information from a variety of technologies.
Specific Outcomes
3.4 access and retrieve information through the electronic network
3.5 analyze and synthesize information to create a product
3.6 communicate in a persuasive and engaging manner, through appropriate forms, such as
speeches, letters, reports and multimedia presentations, applying information
technologies for content, audience and purpose
C.5 - Students will use technology to aid collaboration during inquiry.
Specific Outcomes
3.1 access, retrieve and share information from electronic sources, such as common files
English Language Arts
Grade 9
6
P.1 - Students will compose, revise and edit text.
Specific Outcomes
3.1 design a document, using style sheets and with attention to page layout, that incorporates
advanced word processing techniques, including headers, footers, margins, columns, table
of contents, bibliography and index
3.3 revise text documents based on feedback from others
3.4 use appropriate communication technology to elicit feedback from others
P.6 - Students will use communication technology to interact with others.
Specific Outcomes
3.2 demonstrate proficiency in accessing local area network, wide area network and Internet
services, including uploading and downloading text, image, audio and video files
Bloom’s Taxonomy and Digital Bloom’s Taxonomy


English Language Arts
Grade 9
Mr. Keenan, “Moving from Technology Integration to True Digital Learning: A Presentation.”
<http://goo.gl/M2oqs>
Andrew Churches “Digital Bloom’s Taxonomy” <http://goo.gl/s403>
7
March Calendar
Monday
5
This calendar is a work in progress. Scaffolding will be adjusted according to the students’ level of understanding and development of writing.
Tuesday
6
Wednesday
7 Practicum Start
Business Letters
-Review parts of a business letter.
-Write a class business letter.
12 Work period (laptop cart).
-Research (laptop cart).
-Guide and model proper online
research.
-Conferencing one-on-one with students:
ask what they want me to look at.
-Provide guidance and feedback.
Friday
1
2
8
Continuation of writing a class
business letter.
Individual business letter assignment:
-Explanation
-Wikispace walkthrough
-Brainstorming of individual topics
(BYOD, partners)
-Ask students to use BPDOG handout
to plan their letter.
Writing the letter.
16
PSII Workshop: 1pm-4pm
15
Narrative Essays
-Introduction
-Life writing activity
-Theme: narratives as “snap shots” of
life
-Description: feel, see, hear, etc
Work period (laptop cart).
14
Business letters due – to be discussed
due to “Speak Out” forum.
-Final work is on their Wikipage. The
other requirement is to send the letter
to the company they wrote to.
-Online “Gallery Walk” – viewing of
the business letters.
Exit Slip: Which would they rather:
narratives stories or narrative essays?
20
21
22
Work Period (laptop cart).
Conferencing
Work Period (laptop cart).
Conferencing
Work Period (laptop cart).
Conferencing.
23 Peer-feedback
-Give students Wikipage feedback
guidelines. Assign feedback groups. They are to read-out-loud the essays
in their group and provide the writers
helpful feedback.
26
27
28
29
30
-Editing workshop
-Editing workshop
Narrative essays due.
19
-Worksheet: development of main idea
(thesis), 3 main ideas
-Discussion on organization, fluidity of
ideas
13 Peer-feedback
-Give students Wikipage feedback
guidelines. Assign feedback groups. They are to read-out-loud the
business letters in their group and
provide the writers helpful feedback.
Thursday
–Main idea: how to create one based
on a topic
-How to create details to support the
main idea
-Example
-Individual brainstorming of
performance task topic
Lesson #1: March 7
Class Length
GLOs
SLOs
Learning Objectives
Materials
Introduction
English Language Arts: Business Letters
Grade 9
30 minutes (Tracy Inaba assigned this first class to do ice breaker activities to
get to know the students)
5: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to respect,
support and collaborate with others.
5.1 Respect Others and Strengthen Community
 Appreciate diversity
5.2 Work within a Group
 Cooperate with others.
 Work in groups.
Students will participate in get-to-know-each-other games to strengthen
classroom community and to “break the ice” with the new student teacher.
 “Who are You” handout (22 copies)
1. Give students “Who are You” handout to fill out.
2. Introduce myself:
i.
From the University of Lethbridge, 5th year of studies, English major.
ii.
Will be teaching them Language Arts until April 25: business letter and
narrative essays.
iii.
I am half-Filipino, play the piano, love chocolate.
Time: 5 minutes
Body of Lesson
Name Toss
 On a note card, ask everyone to write one word that begins with the first
letter of their first name that reflects something about them (i.e. Creative
Carol).
 In a circle ask everyone to say their name, the word, and the connection
they have to the word.
 Place the cards in the center of the circle. Return the correct card to the
person who wrote it.
Time: 10 minutes
Two Truths and a Lie
 Give the students some time to write down two things about themselves
that are true, and one thing that is a "lie."
 Start first.
 Each student will then share these facts about themselves and the rest of
the group has to figure out which "fact" is actually a "lie."
Time: 10 minutes
Closure
Assessment Methods
Resources
Other suggested ice breaker activities?
1. Next class, we will be learning about the parts of a business letter.
1. The “Who are You?” handout asks about students’ thoughts and goals for
Language Arts. This is a pre-assessment, which will help me guage their
learning.
1.
TeacherVision.com, “Getting to Know Your Students.” <http://goo.gl/bEAXL>
English Language Arts
Grade 9
10
Lesson #2: March 7
Class Length
GLOs
SLOs
English Language Arts: Business Letters
Grade 9
60 minutes
1: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to explore
thoughts, ideas, feelings and experiences.
2: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to comprehend
and respond personally and critically to oral, print and other media texts.
5: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to respect,
support and collaborate with others.
1.1 Discover and Explore
 Express ideas and develop understanding.
 Experiment with language and forms.
 Combine ideas.
2.3 Understand Forms, Elements and Techniques
 Understand forms and genres.
Learning Objectives
Materials
Introduction
Body of Lesson
5.2 Work within a Group
 Cooperate with others.
 Work in groups.
Students will identify and explain the parts of a business letter.
Students will identify and evaluate techniques for improving a business letter.
Students will create a class business letter.
 Sticky-note questions
 Business letter examples (20 copies)
 The Body of a Business Letter (43 copies)
 Business Letter Writing Organizer (43 copies)
 Exit Cards
1. Give an overview of the lesson:
i.
For ELA, we will be reviewing the parts of a business letter.
ii.
After, we will be creating a class business letter.
Business Letter Pre-Assessment
2. Ask students to search under the tables for “sticky questions.” Individuals
with the sticky notes will read the question out loud and the class will
answer.
 What is a business letter?
 Why are business letters important?
 What makes a business letter effective?
 What are the parts of a business letter? How do we remember the
parts of a business letter? (BPDOG acronym)
Time: 5 minutes
Parts of a Business Letter
3. Provide students with a variety of business letters (3 examples per table).
Think-Pair-Share
 What are some observations you noticed about the format of these
letters? What are some commonalities and differences (if any).
Unit Plan: Business Letter and Narrative Essays
Teacher Associate: Tracy Inaba
Christel Hansen
Lead the discussion so students answer the following questions through their
observations of the letters:
 What are the purposes of these letters?
 How are these letters persuasive?
 What makes it a good/bad business letter?
 How can these business letters be improved?
Time: 10 minutes
Write a Class Business Letter
4. Show the scenario on the SMART board.
5. Discuss BPDOG acronym.
6. Clock partner: discuss what we should say in this letter. Ask them to write
down their ideas in the “Business Letter Writing Organizer”.
Time: 10 minutes
Closure
Assessment Methods
Differentiated
Learning/Teaching
Strategies
Resources
English Language Arts
Grade 9
7. Discuss their ideas as a class.
8. Write a class business letter on the class Wikipage. Model how to use the
class Wikispace and check for understanding, as they will need to complete
their business letter on the Wikipage.
Time: 33 minutes
1. We will continue to write the business letter for next class.
2. Ask them to think about whom they want to write a business letter to for
next class. Ask them to think about their favorite companies (Nike,
Nintendo), as they are going to write an individual business letter to that
company.
3. Have them fill out Exit Cards. When they are finished, they can be
dismissed.
Time: 2 minutes
2. Sticky-note questions to assess their level of understanding.
3. Use Exit Cards to assess what they have learned. On recipie cards, they
have to answer:
i.
What did you learn today?
ii.
For this topic of business letters, what is something you hope to
learn?
iii.
Do you have any questions?
1. If students cannot remember the BPDOG acronym, make a mnenomic.
2. If students have their own technological devices, they make access the
business letter documents on the Wikipage.
1. “Business Letter Writing Organizer” – Tracy Inaba
2. “The Body of a Business Letter” – Tracy Inaba
3. <http://www.creative-writing-ideas-and-activities.com/write-a-formalletter.html>
Unit Plan: Business Letter and Narrative Essays
Teacher Associate: Tracy Inaba
Lesson #3: March 8
Class Length
GLOs
SLOs
Christel Hansen
English Language Arts: Business Letters
Grade 9
30 minutes (afternoon class is missed due to the PSII workshop)
1: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to explore
thoughts, ideas, feelings and experiences.
2: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to comprehend
and respond personally and critically to oral, print and other media texts.
5: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to respect,
support and collaborate with others.
1.1 Discover and Explore
 Express ideas and develop understanding.
 Combine ideas.
2.3 Understand Forms, Elements and Techniques
 Understand forms and genres.
Learning Objectives
Materials
Introduction
Body of Lesson
English Language Arts
Grade 9
5.2 Work within a Group
 Cooperate with others.
 Work in groups.
Students will create a class business letter.
Students will brainstorm ideas for their
 Wikispace user names and passwords (for the afternoon class with the
substitute teacher).
 Large pieces of paper (12?) and markers for table groups
 Laptops (afternoon class with the substitute teacher).
1. Give an overview of the lesson:
i.
For ELA, we will be reviewing the parts of a business letter.
ii.
After, we will be continuing the class business letter.
iii.
Explain the main assignment.
1. Business Letter Review: T/F Spoons (Wooden spoons labeled with T and F
on each side. Table groups will show T or F to the teacher for the following
questions).
 The acronym to remember the parts of a business letter is BPBOG.
False. BPDOG (ask the class to identify what the letters stand for ).
 The paragraphs in a block format business letter are indented. False.
 A business letter is appropriate to write for a formal audience. True.
What letter is appropriate for an informal audience – a friendly letter.
 It is necessary to include your background information in a business
letter. True. You want the reader to know a bit about the writer and
how it relates to his/her situation.
 What makes a business letter most effective is writing in the passive
voice. False. Ask the class to list factors that make a business letter
effective.
Time: 5 minutes
Unit Plan: Business Letter and Narrative Essays
Teacher Associate: Tracy Inaba
Christel Hansen
Class Business Letter
1. Continue to write the letter from last class. Finish the letter and send it
to the recipient.
Time: 10 minutes
Assessment
2. Ask students to stand up and stake 10 random steps around the
classroom. Then, have them high five the person nearest to them.
Have students tell that person something that they have learned from
writing the class business letter. Ask several students to share their
responses.
Time: 2 minutes
Individual Business Letter Performance Task
3. Go through the task described on the Wikispace.
4. Tell students their usernames and passwords will be given to them in
the afternoon class (I will give them to the substitute teacher so they
can work on their Wikipage)
 Are there any questions?
Time: 10 minutes
Brainstorming
5. Give students large pieces of paper.
6. In their table groups, they will discuss and write down their ideas for
individual business letters with markers provided. The catch is that
they cannot include any words – they have to draw their ideas.
7. Ask table groups to share their ideas.
Time: 7 minutes
Closure
Assessment Methods
English Language Arts
Grade 9
4. Ask students to put away the markers and to hand-in their pieces of paper.
5. Tell them that next class, they will get started doing research and writing
their business letter on the Wikispace.
Time: 2 minutes
1. T/F Spoons: helps students retain the information by reviewing the
business letter format. It is also a quick way to show me what the
stuents understand.
2. High-Five Assessment: Gets students to stand up and re-engage with
the lesson. This also encourages to learn from each other by sharing
individual insights. It also gives me an idea of where their learning is at.
3. Observations: walking around the table groups while they discuss their
ideas will also help me guage their learning and help them with any
difficulties.
Unit Plan: Business Letter and Narrative Essays
Teacher Associate: Tracy Inaba
English Language Arts
Grade 9
Christel Hansen