1. What did you learn from assessing the letters?
I think that this activity helps show students what to look for in a good letter. The comparison of the three letters helps students differentiate between the diferent criterion that they would be graded on. There will be less questioning of why someone gets a three or a two. They are able to see what type of wording and reasoning makes a letter pursuasive and what type of language is appropriateto be professional. Students can actually give their own reasoning using the flags, which helps with peer to peer conversation. This type of discussion helps put it in the words of the children they interact with and not just the words of the teacher. This will help the students to make better connections.
2. What advice would you give students for next steps?
I would probably engage my students in a discussion of how they might go about creating their own letter in order to take the criterion into consideration. We could create a list of things to do and an order to do them in. I think it would be goood to create a checklist, as well, to help students be sure to take all the necessary steps to create their best letter.
