STEP-BY-STEP Writing, Book 1: A Standards-Based Approach, Second Edition - Linda Lonon Blanton 2008

Unit 7 Write a Message to a Friend

Reading

Discuss. What do you do on weekends? Complete the survey with a partner. Then, share your information with the class.

Read. Read Francisco's letter to his cousin, Pedro.

Write captions. Write a sentence under each picture on page 81. Use sentences from Francisco's letter.

Vocabulary

Complete Francisco's weekly schedule with the days of the week.

Read the sentences. What is Francisco doing at these times? Look at Francisco's schedule in Exercise A. Write sentences. Use the present continuous tense.

1. It’s 3:15 on Monday afternoon. He's studying with his math group.

2. It’s 7:00 on Thursday evening.

3. It’s 6:30 on Friday morning.

4. It’s 8:45 on Saturday morning.

5. It’s 10:45 on Sunday morning.

6. It’s 7:00 on Wednesday evening.

Answer the questions. Use information from Francisco's schedule in Exercise A. Use the prepositions in parentheses.

Remember!

Time expressions tell when something happens or how long something lasts.

When in the morning on Saturday at 12:00 p.m./at noon

How long for two hours from 3:00 to 5:00

1. How long does Francisco play basketball on Saturday? (for) He plays basketball for two hours.

2. What time does Francisco call Grandma Garcia? (at) …

3. What day does Francisco clean his room? (on) …

4. When does Francisco work out? (in) …

5. How long does Francisco practice the guitar on Tuesdays and Thursdays? (from . . . to) …

These sentences are not true. Rewrite the sentences. Use the correct adjectives from Francisco's letter on page 80.

1. Francisco is sad in Los Angeles. Francisco is happy in Los Angeles.

2. Francisco was wide awake on Saturday morning.

3. Maria didn’t play basketball because she was healthy.

4. Francisco was full at noon.

5. Francisco was busy after lunch.

6. Francisco was full of energy on Sunday evening.

Grammar

> Learn more in the Grammar Reference, pages 131-141.

Write correct sentences. Use information from the letter on page 80. Use the past tense of the verb in parentheses. Use didn't for negative statements.

Simple Past Tense of Regular Verbs

Add -ed or -d to form the simple past tense of most regular verbs. There are some exceptions:

study —> studied

shop —> shopped

1. Maria (play) basketball on Saturday morning. Maria didn't play basketball, on Saturday morning.

2. Francisco’s friend Rick (call) him on Saturday afternoon.

3. Francisco and Rick (walk) to the mall in the morning.

4. Maria and Francisco (watch TV) on Saturday night.

5. On Sunday, Maria and Francisco (stay home) all day.

6. On Sunday morning, Francisco (clean) his room for three hours.

7. On Sunday, Francisco (work out) and Maria (practice) the guitar.

8. On Sunday evening, Francisco (relax).

Write complete sentences. Use information from the letter on page 80. Change be or have to the past tense. Add the correct preposition to the time expressions.

Simple Past Tense with be and have

1. Francisco / has / a basketball game / 7:00 a.m.

Francisco had a basketball game at 7:00 a.m.

2. Maria / is / sick / Saturday morning

3. Francisco / has lunch / noon

4. Saturday afternoon / Francisco / is / bored

5. Saturday night / Francisco and his family / have / fun

7. Sunday / Francisco and Maria / are not / busy

8. Sunday / the Garcia family / do not have / any plans

Complete the story summary about Francisco's weekend. Use the correct form of the past tense.

Francisco (1) had fun last weekend. He (2) … basketball on Saturday. He (3) … sleepy. Maria (4) … home because she (5) … sick. After the game, Francisco (6) … for groceries.

Then, he (7) … lunch. After that, he and his friend Rick (8) … over to the mall. On Saturday night, Francisco and his family didn’t (9) … any plans. They (10) … games and (11) … TV. On Sunday, Maria and Francisco (12) … busy. Francisco (13) … his room. Then he and Maria (14) … from 1:00 to 3:00. On Sunday evening, Francisco (15) … tired.

Organization

Parts of a Letter

Look at Francisco's letter on page 80. Find the five parts of his letter.

The letter is incorrect. Read the information and label the parts of the letter. Then, rewrite the letter in the correct order.

Remember!

There are usually five parts of a letter. The heading gives the date of the letter. The greeting says "hello" to the person you are writing to (the receiver.) The body of the letter is the message. It is in paragraph form. The closing says "good-bye" to the receiver. The signature is the signed name under the closing.

closing Your friend,

__ How are you? I’m great. I’m sitting in the park right now. I’m relaxing with my friends. Last weekend was really exciting. I went to Seattle with my family. We had a really good time. How was your weekend? Did you do anything interesting? Write soon!

… November 23, 2008

… Dear Rachel,

… MARCI HESS

Writing conventions

Mailing Addresses

Label the parts of Francisco's address. Then, write your school's address. Use correct abbreviations.

Remember!

An address gives the receiver's name and location. The return address gives the writer's information. Put a comma between the street address and apartment number. Put a comma between the city and state. You can use abbreviations. For example:

Apt. (Apartment)  N. (North)

CA (California)  St. (Street)

For international addresses, add the country name to the end of the address.

house / building number

city name

apartment number

state name

street name

zip code

receiver name

Writing

Writing a Friendly Letter or E-mail

In a friendly letter or e-mail, the author writes an informal message to a friend or family member. These messages often tell how the author is feeling. They can also tell about recent activities or events. The author may also ask the receiver questions, or make simple requests.

Read. Read Tom's e-mail to a friend.

From: Tom Botsford (tbotsford@h-net.com)

To: Alicia O'Brien (ao'brien@t-com.net)

Subject: Hi there!

Date: April 12, 2008

Hi Alicia,

Things here in Miami are fine. I'm very busy. I have classes Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. My classes are interesting. I like my teachers, too.

Last weekend was great. On Friday evening, I played soccer with some classmates. On Saturday morning, I listened to music and cleaned my room. Then, I had a big breakfast. I was hungry. After that, I studied from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Then in the afternoon, my friend Marco and I played basketball. On Sunday morning, I just relaxed because I was tired. Then, I called my grandmother on Sunday afternoon. On Sunday night, I played games with my family. We had a great time!

How are you? How is school? Are you busy? Write soon!

See you later!

Tom

Write a letter. Rewrite Tom's e-mail to Alicia as a friendly letter. Use the format on page 87.

A Friendly Letter

Step-by-step writing

Purpose: Write a Message to a Friend

Writing PROMPT

Write a letter or e-mail to a friend or family member. First, tell the person how you are. Then, write about what you did last weekend. Use time expressions to sequence events. Finally, ask questions or make requests.

STEP 1 Pre-write

Look at Tom's cluster map. Think about what you want to say. Copy the cluster map or make one on a computer. Put the main topic in the center. Complete the cluster map with your information.

STEP 2 Organize

Look at Tom's message outline. Organize your ideas. Copy the chart in your notebook or make one on a computer. Complete the chart with notes for your message.

Step 3 Draft and Revise

Practice. Look at Tom's first draft of the body of his message. How can he improve it? Answer the questions.

1. What is a better topic sentence for paragraph 1?

A Sentence 2

Ⓑ Sentence 3

C Sentence 4

D Make no change.

2. What’s the best way to combine sentences 11 and 12?

A Then in the afternoon, my friend and Marco played basketball.

В Then in the afternoon, my friend Marco played basketball.

C Then in the afternoon, my friend Marco and I played basketball.

D Then in the afternoon, my Marco and I played basketball.

3. What is a better word for “sleepy” in sentence 9?

A fine

В bored

C tired

D hungry

4. What sentence does not fit in paragraph 3?

A Sentence 17

В Sentence 18

C Sentence 19

D Sentence 20

Draft. Write a first draft of your friendly letter or e-mail. Use your notes from Steps 1 and 2.

Revise. Read your first draft. How can you improve it? Look at the revision checklist. Revise your writing.

STEP 4 Edit

Practice. Look at the sentences. Choose the best substitute for the underlined words. If the sentence is correct, choose "Make no change."

1. I did my homework to three hours on Sunday.

A from

В at

© for

D Make no change.

2. My sister practices the guitar in Monday afternoons.

A on

В at

C to

D Make no change.

3. We watches movies last weekend.

A are watching

В watched

C watch

D Make no change.

4. Rachel haven’t breakfast last Sunday.

A hadn’t

В didn’t have

C didn’t had

D Make no change.

5. Perry Martin

4152 Elm St.

Los Angeles CA 02128

A Los Angeles, CA 02128

В Los Angeles CA, 02128

C Los Angeles C.A. 02128

D Make no change.

Edit. Reread your draft from Step 3. Look at the editing checklist. Edit your writing.

Peer Edit. Exchange drafts with a partner. Tell your partner what you like about the draft. Look at the editing checklist. Tell your partner how to improve the draft.

STEP 5 Publish

Write your message in friendly letter or e-mail format. For a friendly letter, include all five parts for the letter. Present your letter to the class or mail it to your friend. For e-mails, type your message in e-mail format on a computer. Print a copy or send it to your teacher.

Technology

Sending an Electronic Message

You can send messages on the Internet with e-mail (electronic mail) or e-cards (electronic cards). Do a keyword search for "free e-cards." Click on a hyperlink. Do not click on an advertisement. Follow the site directions to send an e-card to a friend, family member, or teacher.