Letter writing is an engaging and important writing format for third graders to master. You can support the development of letter writing expertise with this lesson that provides guidance on the structure and anatomy of a letter. Written by curriculum experts, this lesson will teach kids the various features that make a letter easier to read, and will also offer plenty of opportunities to practice.

Letter writing is a very engaging and authentic way to learn formatting, punctuation and grammar. The activities in this unit should be learned in tandem with actual letter writing to aunts, uncles or other special far-away people. That way, students can learn and practice the letter writing skills and then apply them in their own letters. It would be especially rich to include their thoughts about books they are reading.

In this unit, students are encouraged to write letters to family and friends about a book they are reading. In the letters the will apply the skills learned in this unit, including how to structure a letter, punctuating titles of books and short stories, using possessives (in reference to the characters or ideas in the book), contractions and addressing an envelope. Don’t forget to request a response - getting a personal letter in the mail in this electronic age can be a thrill!

Cooking, weather, and sports, oh my! These interactive gem mining and cat typing games will help your child learn to type accurately and quickly with correct form and placement. By practicing words, their keyboarding skills will become better and better as they remember common letter pattern placements to string letters together.

Surf's up! Kids help Floyd ride a huge wave by typing accurately and quickly in this fast-paced, fact-filled keyboarding game. As they learn about Sojourner Truth, interesting places, and taste buds, they'll practice combining tons of different letters and combinations. The more kids practice typing, the more familiar they'll become with various letter, number, and symbol combinations.