CONNECTED CULTURE

Writing Good Emails

LESSON PLAN

Essential Question:Howdoyoucommunicateeffectivelywhenyou writeemailmessages? Learning Overview and Objectives

Overview:Studentslearnhowtocommunicateeffectivelybyemail,takingintoaccountthepurposeandaudience oftheirmessage,andthetonetheywanttoconvey. Studentslearnabouttheimportanceofclearcommunicationwhenwritingemails,asfacialandvocalcuesare absentonline.Studentsthenlearnaboutgoodwaystocommunicatebyemail,andusethesestrategiestoedit anemailmessage.Finally,studentspracticewritingunclearemailsfordifferentaudiencestodemonstratethe importanceofeffectivecommunication. Studentswill: !"Communicateeffectivelybyemail,takingintoaccountthepurposeandaudience oftheiremail,andthemessagetheywanttoconvey !"Modifyemailsthatareunclear !"Demonstratethattheyunderstandthedifferencebetweeneffectiveandineffective emailcommunication

objectives

Materials and Preparation

Materials !"#$%"&'"()*+'"#',-./'"0$/-1,' !"Chalkboardorwhiteboard Preparation !"Copythe#$%"&'"()*+'"#',-./'"0$/-1,',oneforeverystudent ParentResources !"Sendparentsthe233.4')5."26$)7"8166,/)4$')1/"9$:./'";)<"#+..'

Estimated time:45minutes

Key Vocabulary
!"233.4')5.=Donewell !"261')41/>=Symbolsyoucantypethatshowhowyoufeel !"2-)'=Tocorrectandrevise !"81/'.?'=Backgroundinformationthatprovidesgreaterexplanation !"@1:6$7=Moreserious !"&/31:6$7="Morerelaxed

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CONNECTED CULTURE

Writing Good Emails

teaching plans
Introduce

LESSON PLAN

APPROACHoneofyourstudentsandsayinaraisedvoice:WHYDIDNTYOUTURNINYOURHOMEWORK? HOWDISRESPECTFUL.Immediatelyafterward,askthatpersonhowheorshefeltwhenyouaskedthequestion. (Reponsesmightinclude:surprised,scared,guilty,orangry.) ASKWhywaswhatIdidanexampleofineffectivecommunication? Sampleresponses: !" Theteacherassumedthatthestudentwasdisrespectingtheteacherbynotturninginthehomework. Butmaybethestudentwassick,ortheteachermisplacedthehomework.Itwouldhavebeenmoreeffective iftheteacherhadaskedthestudentlessaggressivequestionsfirst. !" Theteacherbeganbyraisinghervoice,whichprobablyledthestudenttotuneouttheteachersvoice. !" Theteacherscommentmadethestudentfeelfearfulorguilty,evenifheorshedidcompletethehomework orhadagoodreasonwhyitwasnotdone. INVITEstudentstoshareexamplesofeffectivewaystocommunicatewithotherswhentheyarefacetoface. Sampleresponses: !" Taketurnstalking !" Dontshout !" Recognizethefeelingsofothers !" Chooseyourwordscarefully !" Clearupmisunderstandingsbyaskingfollowupquestions EXPLAINthatsomewaysofcommunicatingaremoreeffectivethanothers,andthatthestudentswillexplore moreabouteffectivewaysofcommunicatingtoday.

Teach 1: Tips for Good Emails

WRITEasentenceontheboard,suchas,Igotmytestback.Askstudentstopairup,andhaveoneperson fromeachpairrepeatthesentencetwice,withdifferingemphasestoexpresstwodifferentmeanings.Theother partnershouldrespondaccordingly. INVITEpairstodescribethetwowaysthefirstpartnersaidthephrase,andalsohowtheotherpartnerresponded. Helpthemconsiderhowmuchadditionalinformationisconveyedthroughfacialandvocalexpression.Then havethemreflectonhoweasyitistomisunderstandmessageswhenthosecuesaremissing. ASKIfyouwrotethephraseIgotmytestbacktoafriendoveremail,howwouldyouletthemknow moreaboutwhatyoureallymean? Sampleresponses: !" IwouldwritemoreinformationtoletthemknowifIwashappyaboutmyscoreornot !" Ifmyscorewasgood,IwouldincludeasmileyfacetoletthemknowthatIwashappy !" IfIgotabadscore,Iwouldincludeasubjectlineintheemailthatreadbummer 2
DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE 2010 www.commonsense.org

CONNECTED CULTURE

Writing Good Emails

LESSON PLAN

EXPLAINthatitisimportanttosaywhatyoumeanandprovidecontextwhenyouarewritingtoothers, especiallyifwhatyouaresayingcouldhavemanymeanings.Letstudentsknowthattherearesomegoodtips forwritingclearandeffectiveemails.Introducethefollowingtips: AB"Thinkaboutyouraudience.Youmightwritewithdifferentwordsandadifferenttonedependingon whoyouarewritingto.Emailstopeopleyouhavenevermetmightbemoreformalemailstofriends willprobablybemoreinformal. CB"Includeasubjectlinethathelpsthepersonopeningtheemailknowwhattoexpect. 3.Getrighttothepoint,andtrytokeepthemessagetoonescreenforformalemails.Peoplewhoget tonsofmessageseverydaywillthankyou. 4.Writeonlywhatyouwouldsaytoapersonsface.Anythingyousayoveremailyoushouldbeableto saytosomeonesface. DB"Onlyuseuppercaselettersonetimeifyouwanttoemphasizeanideaoraword.Typingwhole sentencesinuppercaselettersislikeshouting. 6.Providecontextsothattheintentofyourmessageisclear. 7.Useemoticons,suchasasmileyface,oranexclamationpointonoccasiontohelppeopleunderstand yourmeaningwhentheycannotseeyourfaceorhearyourvoice.Butawordofcaution:Emoticons maynotbeappropriatewhenwritingmoreformalemails. 8.Checkyourspelling,grammar,punctuation,andformattingbeforesendinganemail,especially aformalone. EB"Typeyournameattheendoftheemail.

Teach 2: Whats Wrong with This?

DISTRIBUTEthe#$%"&'"()*+'"#',-./'"0$/-1,'. HAVEstudentsedittheemailmessageandexplaintheirchanges. Possibleedits: !" Useamoreformaltone.Forexample,So,Mr.President,isveryinformaltheinformationabout thewriterslittlebrotherseemsrudechangebossysoundingsentencestomorepoliteones. !" Changethesubjectlinesoitismorespecifictothemessagesintent. !" Changeuppercasesentencestolowercase,unlessyouwanttoemphasizeoneortwoofthewords. !" Capitalizeallatthebeginningoftheseventhsentence. !" Fixspellingofcoughandlicense. !" Capitalizepresidentinthelastsentence.

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CONNECTED CULTURE

Writing Good Emails

Wrap Up and Assess

LESSON PLAN

Youcanusethetipsonthe#$%"&'"()*+'"#',-./'"0$/-1,'toassessyourstudentsunderstandingofthe lessonobjectives. ASK !" Whataresometipsforwritingeffectiveemails? !" Whataresometipsforwritingineffectiveemails? REMINDstudentsthatclearwritingisespeciallyimportantontheInternetbecauseotherscannotseeyour facialexpressions.

Extension Activity
HavestudentsreviewtheGoodEmailTipsonthestudenthandout.Theyshouldthentypeupasample emailthatispurposefullyineffective.Theycanexchangetheseineffectiveemailswithclassmatesandthen rewritethemsotheyaremoreeffective.

Homework
StudentsbringhometheGoodEmailTipstosharewiththeirparents.Theycanthengooveranemail thattheparenthaswrittenandassesshoweffectiveitwas.Iftheparentdoesnothaveanemailaccount,the studentscanfindanothertrustedadultwhodoes.

Alignment with Standards National Educational Technology Standards for Students 2007
(Source:InternationalSocietyforTechnologyinEducation,2007) CB"8166,/)4$')1/"$/-"8177$F1:$')1/"" b.communicateinformationandideaseffectivelytomultipleaudiencesusingavarietyofmediaandformats DB"G)*)'$7"8)')H./>+)<""" a.advocateandpracticesafe,legal,andresponsibleuseofinformationandtechnology b.exhibitapositiveattitudetowardusingtechnologythatsupportscollaboration,learning,andproductivity d.exhibitleadershipfordigitalcitizenship

DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE 2010 www.commonsense.org

CONNECTED CULTURE > WRITING GOOD EMAILS

Say It Right
Name Directions Class

STUDENT HANDOUT

Date

Readtheemailmessagebelow,readtheGoodEmailTips,andthenedittheemailwiththe tipsinmind.

Edit This Email To: president@whitehouse.gov

Subject: hey! Message: DearMr.President, Mylittlebrotherdoesntevenknowwhoyouare.IamwritingtoyoubecauseIam

worriedaboutAIRPOLLUTION.SOMETIMESTHEAIRISSODIRTYITMAKESME KOFF.CANTYOUDOANYTHINGABOUTIT?HEREISMYPLAN.Ithinkpeople shouldonlydrivetheircarsonoddorevendays.alltheyhavetodoischeckthecalendar. Iftheyhaveanodddriversliecents,theycandriveonodddays.Ifitisanevenday,goin acarpool!So,Mr.president,AREYOUGOINGTOMAKEEVERYONEDOWHATISAY? Yourfriend,

AngryaboutAirPollution

DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE 2010 www.commonsense.org

CONNECTED CULTURE > WRITING GOOD EMAILS

Say It Right
Good Email Tips

STUDENT HANDOUT

1. Thinkaboutyouraudience.Youmightwritewithdifferentwordsandadifferenttonedepending onwhoyouarewritingto.Emailstopeopleyouhavenevermetmightbemoreformalemailsto friendswillprobablybemoreinformal. 2.Includeasubjectlinethathelpsthepersonopeningtheemailknowwhattoexpect. 3.Getrighttothepoint,andtrytokeepthemessagetoonescreenforformalemails.Peoplewho gettonsofmessageseverydaywillthankyou. 4.Writeonlywhatyouwouldsaytoapersonsface.Anythingyousayoveremailyoushouldbeable tosaytosomeonesface. 5.Onlyuseuppercaselettersonetimeifyouwanttoemphasizeanideaoraword.Typingwhole sentencesinuppercaselettersislikeshouting. 6.Providecontextsothattheintentofyourmessageisclear. 7.Useemoticons,suchasasmileyface,oranexclamationpointonoccasiontohelppeople understandyourmeaningwhentheycannotseeyourfaceorhearyourvoice.Butawordofcaution: Emoticonsmaynotbeappropriatewhenwritingmoreformalemails. 8.Checkyourspelling,grammar,punctuation,andformattingbeforesendinganemail,especially aformalone. 9.Typeyournameattheendoftheemail.

DIGITAL LITERACY AND CITIZENSHIP IN A CONNECTED CULTURE 2010 www.commonsense.org