ALEX Learning Activity

  

Don't Break My Heart: Declaration of Independence Break-Up Letter

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  This learning activity provided by:  
Author: Ashley Lucier
System:Autauga County
School:Marbury Middle School
  General Activity Information  
Activity ID: 2402
Title:
Don't Break My Heart: Declaration of Independence Break-Up Letter
Digital Tool/Resource:
Break Up Letter Instructions
Web Address – URL:
Overview:

In this activity, students will write a break-up letter to an object, activity, or person. The letter will follow the formatting of the Declaration of Independence and include rhetorical appeals. 

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.
  Associated Standards and Objectives  
Content Standard(s):
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 10
R5. Utilize a writing process which includes planning, revising, editing/peer-editing, and rewriting to create a focused, organized, and coherent piece of writing for a specific purpose and audience.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
R5.
  • Writing process
  • Plan
  • Revise
  • Edit
  • Peer-edit
  • Rewrite
  • Focused
  • Organized
  • Coherent
  • Purpose
  • Audience
Knowledge:
R5. Students know:
  • The writing process steps are to plan, revise, edit, and rewrite.
  • Editing can be completed by the writer or by a peer.
  • Peer-editing skills.
  • Completed writing projects should be focused, organized, and coherent, and written for a specific purpose and intended audience.
Skills:
R5. Students are able to:
  • Plan, revise, edit, and rewrite to create a focused, organized, and coherent piece of writing.
  • Compose a writing piece for a specific purpose and intended audience.
  • Engage in the peer-editing process.
Understanding:
R5. Students understand that:
  • Writing is a process that requires multiple drafts, edits, and versions.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 10
6. Compare and/or contrast the perspectives in a variety of fiction, nonfiction, informational, digital, and multimodal texts produced from diverse historical, cultural, and global viewpoints, not limited to the grade-level literary focus.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
6.
  • Fiction texts
  • Nonfiction texts
  • Perspectives
  • Informational texts
  • Digital texts
  • Multimodal texts
  • Historical viewpoints
  • Cultural viewpoints
  • Global viewpoints
Knowledge:
6. Students know:
  • Strategies to identify the perspective of fiction, nonfiction, informational, digital, and multimodal texts.
  • Strategies to identify the historical, cultural, and global viewpoints of a variety of texts.
  • Methods to compare and contrast texts.
Skills:
6. Students are able to:
  • Compare and contrast perspectives in fiction, nonfiction, informational, digital, and multimodal texts.
  • Compare and contrast diverse historical, cultural, and global viewpoints demonstrated in a variety of texts.
Understanding:
6. Students understand that:
  • The texts they read will have a variety of historical, cultural, and global viewpoints, which offer a multitude of perspectives on different topics.
  • Similar and different ideas and themes can be presented in a variety of textual formats.
Learning Objectives:

Students will imitate the rhetorical features of the Declaration of Independence by producing writing that is appropriate for the task of persuasion. 
  Strategies, Preparations and Variations  
Phase:
After/Explain/Elaborate
Activity:

1. Instructor will explain Break Up Letter Instructions. 

2. Instructor will check for questions/clarification if needed. 

3. Students will complete a break-up letter following directions given. 

4. Students will highlight rhetorical appeals in their written letters. 
Assessment Strategies:

Instructor will collect letters and grade looking for the following criteria:

1. Did the student follow the format of the Declaration of Independence? 

2. Did the student include the appropriate number of rhetorical skills and identify them in their letter?

3. Did the student use appropriate tone and grammar for the intended audience?
Advanced Preparation:

1. Make copies of Break Up Letter Instructions. *There are two copies of the instructions per page to save paper. 

2. Have paper available for students to write letters. (Stationary paper gives a nice touch to their work, but is not required.)
Variation Tips (optional):

1. Students who struggle with writing can be given a template and a review of how to format a letter. 

2. If instruction of rhetorical appeals has not been given recently, a review of the appeals with examples can be helpful. 

3. Students can extend the assignment by adding visual images to their letter or making it more decorative. 

4. Advanced students can be required to include more than two examples of rhetorical appeals.
Notes or Recommendations (optional):

This activity is appropriate for checking the understanding of a student's use of rhetorical appeals. Since 10th grade ELA includes the study of seminal documents, the activity is useful for teaching in conjunction with an analysis of the Declaration of Independence. 
  Keywords and Search Tags  
Keywords and Search Tags: American literature, creative writing, Declaration of Independence, letter