8th grade pen pal letters – l’ultima lettera!
In this last letter we will be telling our penpals about what we did in Middle School and
plans for the High School. We will also be teaching our penpals some popular idioms
and phrases in inglese.
Part 1

Greet your pen pal by name

Ask him/her how she is doing

Answer any questions he/she may have asked you in their last letter –
molto importante

Tell him/her some of the things you did at Park Middle School. Nella classe di
inglese io ho scritto molto, nella classe di italiano io ho parlato italiano…..

Here are some activities you may wish to use:
leggere
mangiare
giocare
guardare
parlare
scrivere
cantare
fare ginnastica
camminare
ascoltare
imparare
disegnare
studiare
fare
dormire
andare

Ask what he/she is doing for the summer: Che cosa fai quest’estate?

Tell him/her what you are doing for the summer.

Tell him/her what school you will be going to in the fall.

Wish them all the best with:
Tanti saluti da (your name)
Part 2
Now it is time to teach your penpal some popular phrases in inglese.
With a partner, come up with some phrases or idioms (hanging out with friends, costs
an arm and a leg, actions speak louder than words, be glad to see the back of, best
thing since sliced bread, etc)
Then, explain the phrase to your penpal and use the phrase in a sentence so he/she
can see how it is used.
IF you have time (in other words, you have finished both parts of your letter) you may
make a poster with your phrase on it and make a short video with a partner to explain
the phrase or idiom. Don’t forget to introduce yourself (yourselves) when you
record.
Your video should not be more than 1-2 minutes long.
Nome:
___________________________________________________
Data:
Oggi e` __________________il _____di __________________
Peer Editing Checklist – La lettera amico/a di penna
Name of classmate who peer-edited your work: _____________________
A.
Requirements: Look for the following elements in your partner’s
writing. Put a check next to each category as you read.
1.________ Greeting, asking penpal how s/he is doing, answering questions,
description of activities you did at Park, asking your penpal about the
summer, telling your plans for the summer, what high school you will be going
to in the fall: Has your partner included all of these? Underline any missing
items.
2. ___________ Vocabulary: Does your partner use a wide variety of
activities? Has s/he added in details which are not on the outline?
4. _______ Comprehensibility: Is the letter clear and easy to understand? Is
there a specific section that was difficult to understand? If so, draw a box around
that section.
5. _______ Mechanics: Does your partner use the “passato prossimo”
correctly? Use the Proofreader’s checklist to help you locate any errors.
B.
Proofreader’s Checklist - Circle any errors you find in the writing.
Type of error
Correct use of passato prossimo for
regular verbs
Example
Alla scuola Park, io ho studiato
molto nella classe di matematica
Correct use of passato prossimo for
irregular verbs
Io ho scritto molto.
Io ho letto molti libri.
Correct use of passato prossimo for
andare
Io sono andato a Little Italy (m)
Io sono andata a Little Italy (f)
C. On the back of this page write down any suggestions and explain them to your
partner. Please include this page when handing in your letter.