Addressing an Audience

Letter writing is a lost art that is rarely used in today's society. Not only the use, but the form and style as well. Through writing letters, students learn how to address an audience, how to write correctly, and how to address different types of audiences. Often times, students writing in the class is not addressed to a specific person. It is a general writing for the teacher to read. Students should be able to pinpoint a specific audience in their writing. Also, they should be able to write for different audiences. They need to learn the difference between writing to a friend, and writing to the principle or a community leader. A great way to do this is to have them write to the different audiences. They should write letter to a person in another class, like a pen pal, and one to the principle. Both letters should be on the same topic. After the student writes the letters, and before they are send them, they should compare the different wording they used. Have the children look at the language they use with a friend and the language they used with the principle. Make a chart on the board so that the kids can see it more easily. This is a great activity for students to learn how to address an audience.