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

Unit 8 Invite People to an Event

Reading

Discuss. Imagine there is a celebration at your school next week. What activities should your school have? Work with a partner. Check (✓) the three activities you like the best. Persuade another pair of students that your suggestions are the best.

□ go to the park

□ have a costume contest

□ have a school dance

□ plan a tour

□ have a talent show

□ make special food

Read. Read the letter from Francisco's school.

Oak Street School

170 Oak Street

Los Angeles, CA 90007

April 5, 2008

Mr. and Mrs. Garcia

145 Oak St., Apt. 9

Los Angeles, CA 90007

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Garcia:

It is time for our Fun Time Festival. The festival is going to start Monday, April 12, and end Friday, April 16. This year's celebration is going to be bigger than last year's celebration.

As usual, the school is going to have an exciting event every day. On "Museum Monday," students are going to take a tour of the museum of art. Students should be at the school at 7:45 a.m. They should not be late because the bus is going to leave at 8:00 a.m. For "Dance Tuesday," the school is going to have a salsa dance party. The party is going to start at 4:30 p.m. Students should be on time. On "Wild Wednesday," students should wear wild and crazy hats. The wildest and craziest hat wins a prize. On "Costume Thursday," the school is going to have a costume contest. Students should wear costumes to school. The best costume wins a prize.

The busiest day is going to be "Fun Friday." In the morning, students are not going to have class. They are going to practice before the talent show. After that, the school is going to have a picnic lunch. Finally, the talent show is going to start at 1:00 p.m. It's going to be very exciting.

We would like to invite all family members to the talent show on Friday afternoon. It is going to be very crowded, so please come early. Please reply to Mrs. Percy or me by next Friday if you are going to come. Thank you.

Write captions. Write a sentence for each picture on page 93. Use sentences from the reading.

Vocabulary

Complete Francisco's paragraph about the Fun Time Festival. Use the words in the box.

Festival

prize

events

show

tour

invites

contest

costume

party

The Fun Time (1) Festival is a popular celebration at the Oak Street School. Every year, we have many different (2) … Last year, Monday’s event was a (3) … of the history museum. Then, on Tuesday, there was a hip hop dance (4) … at the school. I danced all night! Wednesday was “Crazy Hair Day.” There was a (5) … for the craziest hair style, but I didn’t win. On Thursday, we had a “Movie Magic (6) …” The person with the most interesting (7) … from a movie was the winner. The most exciting event was the talent (8) … on Friday morning. Mom and Dad were there, too. Ms. Rivera always (9) … students’ families. We all had a lot of fun.

Rewrite the sentences. Use the correct word in parentheses to create the correct time expression. Use information from the letter on page 92.

1. This year’s Fun Time Festival is (last/next) week. This year's Fun Time Festival is next week.

2. There are many different events (last/every) year.

3. (Last/Next) year’s celebration was big.

4. Students should not be (late/early) for the museum tour.

5. They should come (on time/late) for the dance party.

6. (Next/This) year, students should wear wild hats.

7. On Friday, students should practice (before/after) the talent show.

8. On Friday, parents should come (on time/early) for the talent show.

Rewrite each sentence with the correct form of the adjective. Use information from the reading on page 92.

1. This year’s celebration is going to be (big/bigger/ biggest) than last year’s celebration.

2. The school is going to have an (exciting/more exciting/ most exciting) event every day.

Remember!

Comparative adjectives compare two things.

Francisco's hat is crazier than Yin's hat.

Maria's costume is more interesting than Tara's costume.

Superlative adjectives compare more than two things.

Francisco's hat is the craziest in the school.

Maria's costume is the most interesting in her class.

3. The (wild/wilder/wildest) hat in the class wins a prize.

4. The (good/better/best) costume wins a prize.

5. The (busy/busier/busiest) day is going to be “Fun Friday.”

6. It is going to be very (crowded / more crowded / most crowded).

Grammar

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

Write sentences in the future tense. Use information from the letter on page 92.

Future Tense with be going to

For actions in the future, use be + going to + verb.

1. the Oak Street School / have / Fun Time Festival / next week

The Oak Street School is going to have a Fun Time Festival next week.

2. on Monday / students / meet / at the school / at 7:45 a.m. …

3. on Tuesday / students / have a dance party / at 4:30 in the afternoon …

4. on Wednesday / students / wear crazy hats …

5. on Thursday / some students / wear costumes …

6. Friday / be / the busiest day …

7. on Friday morning / students / not have class …

Add would or please to make the sentences more formal.

Requests and Invitations

1. The school wants students to enjoy the Fun Time Festival events.

The school would like students to enjoy the Fun Time Festival events.

2. We want students to be on time on Monday.

3. Wear a hat for the contest on Wednesday.

4. The school wants parents to come early on Friday.

5. Come to the picnic with us on Friday.

6. Do you want to come to Friday’s events?

Compare last year's Fun Time Festival to this year's Fun Time Festival. Use information from the letter on page 92.

1. Last year, students visited a history museum.

This year, students are going to visit an art museum.

2. Last year, the school had a hip hop dance party.

3. Last year, there was a prize for the craziest hair on Wednesday.

4. Last year, the school had the talent show on Friday morning.

5. Last year’s festival was big.

Organization

Chronological Order

Copy the timeline or make one on a computer. Complete the timeline with events from the letter on page 92.

Remember!

Chronological order tells events in time order. Writers often use a timeline to organize events by time.

Writing strategies

Form, Audience, Topic, Purpose

Remember!

Use different words and phrases for different types of writing. Before you write, ask questions:

What topic am I writing about? (Is it a fun event? a big problem? an interesting person?)

Who is my audience? (Is the reader a friend? a teacher? someone I don't know?)

What is the purpose? (Am I writing to describe? to explain? to persuade?)

What form should I use? (Should I write a formal letter? a paragraph? an essay?)

Look at the words and phrases. Think about audience and form. Make a two-column chart in your notebook or use a computer. Write each word or phrase in the correct column.

Writing

Writing a Formal Letter

Formal letters and friendly letters have different styles (see page 86). Formal letters usually give more background information. In formal letters, writers use more formal language. They do not use contractions. People usually use a formal style for people they don't know.

Business letters and event invitations are examples of formal letters.

Read. Read Jenny's final drafts of her letters. One draft is a friendly letter and one draft is a formal invitation.

Write the body of each letter. Look at the letter forms on page 99. Look at the writing styles in Exercise A. Write a complete draft for each letter. Use the correct form.

A Friendly Letter and a Formal Letter

Step-by-step writing

Purpose: Invite People to an Event

Writing PROMPT

Plan an event for your class. Schedule three or more activities for the event. Then, write a formal invitation to another class or school to come to the event. Remember to include the date, location, and start time of the event. Include a short description of activities and the times they start. Finally, ask the contact person to reply to your message.

STEP 1 Pre-write

Look at Jenny's timeline. Make a timeline for your event. What would you like to do? When and where would you like to do it?

STEP 2 Organize

Look at Jenny's letter organizer. Organize your ideas into the correct letter format. Copy the organizer or make one on a computer. Research any information you need.

Step 3 Draft and Revise

Practice. Look at Jenny's first draft. How can she improve it? Answer the questions.

1. What part of the letter is missing?

A the heading and the body

В the date and the greeting

C the closing and the signature

Ⓓ her school’s address

2. What should Jenny change the greeting to?

A Dear Mr. David:

В Dear Mr. Principal:

C Dear Mr. Parker:

D Dear Mr.,

3. What sentence is not in correct chronological order?

A Sentence 2

В Sentence 4

C Sentence 5

D Sentence 7

4. What is a more formal way to write sentence 8?

A Reply soon!

В Please reply by April 1 if you are going to come.

C We want you to respond by April 1.

D Would you like to come?

Draft. Write a first draft of your invitation. 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 word or phrase to complete each sentence.

1. Our school has a talent show ... year.

A next

В by

C last

Ⓓ every

2. We’re going to go to New York City ...

A last weekend

В on day

C next weekend

D by weekend

3. Our event is going to be ... than their event.

A craziest

В interesting

C biggest

D more interesting

4. John ... on Saturday.

A is going to stay home

В going to stay home

C staying home

D is staying

5. ... to the party, Mrs. Rios?

A Come

В Do you want to come

C Would like to come

D Would you like to come

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 invitation letter in your best handwriting or on a computer. Look at Jenny's letters on pages 98 and 99 for ideas. Remember to include all the parts of a letter and the event details. Present your letter to the class.

Technology

Finding Local Events

Do a keyword search for the name of your town and state with the exact phrase "event schedule." You may need to narrow your search. Click on hyperlinks to find five future events you would like to attend. Write a list of the events and the information for each. Cite your sources. Then, write an invitation to a teacher to join you and your family at an event. Use the correct form.

Group writing

Work in a group to write a letter about one of these topics.

1. Choose a topic.    4. Write a first draft.

2. Decide the letter form.    5. Revise and edit the letter with your group.

3. Do research if you need to.   6. Present your group's letter to the class.

Topic 1

Invite a friend or family member to the event below. Write about three activities you would like to attend.

Topic 2

Write a letter to the teacher below. Request more information. Ask wh- questions to find out the time and location of the lessons.

Timed writing

Choose one writing prompt. Complete the writing task in 45 minutes.

Writing PROMPT 1

Write a letter or e-mail to a friend. Describe three interesting things you did last week. Use chronological order to describe the activities. Think about form, audience, topic, and purpose.

Writing PROMPT 2

Plan an event for your class. Write a letter to the principal of your school. Tell your name, your age, and what grade you are in. Persuade your principal to come to the event. Tell the time and location of the event. Write about the activities. Think about form, audience, topic, and purpose.

Self-check

Think about your writing skills. Check (✓) the answers that are true.

1. I understand...

□ the days of the week.

□ free time activities.

□ time expressions.

□ feelings and moods.

□ event words.

□ comparative adjectives.

2. I can correctly use...

□ simple past tense with regular verbs.

□ simple past tense with be and have.

□ future tense with going to.

□ polite requests and invitations.

3. I can correctly...

□ write mailing addresses.

□ identify the form, audience, topic, and purpose of my writing.

4. I can organize...

□ by the parts of a letter.

□ by chronological order.

5. I can write...

□ informal letters.

□ formal letters.