Name: Date: Block:

_____________________________
________________________________________________________
Mail Call! Mailbox Assignment
In this unit you will be learning about and practicing your letter writing skills. Since the earliest
years of written society, letters hae been used to communicate oer long distances. !etters
were sent by messenger or passed from person to person, carried by friends or relaties, or
placed in mail bags sent on ships or trains oer long distances. "here were no post offices, and
they were often simply addressed with the person#s name and location and whomeer receied
the letter had to try to track the recipient down or leae it for them at the general store or railway
station. $ail was sometimes lost or delayed, but eentually it reached its destination.
!etters contained a ariety of things% sometimes orders from companies or the goernment,
sometimes personal business and correspondence like family updates, sometimes bills, or
sometimes inentories. !etters generally had a basic structure, and it is important you learn
about this structure because letters are still used in business today.
!etter topics:
& 'rite a letter to the (ing of )ngland as a prospectie businessman interested
in the fur trade. $ake up as many details as you like.
* 'rite a letter to a business colleague comparing the business styles of +B,
and N', as if you might inest in one of the companies
- 'rite a letter to a newspaper as the re.discoerer of Nunstints. Describe the
illage. 'hy do you think Nunstints was abandoned/
0 'rite a letter to your family back in )ngland describing yourself going on a
bison hunt with the $etis
1 'rite a letter as !ord Selkirk to the +B, asking for land in the 2ed 2ier
3alley and e4plaining who it would benefit
5 'rite a letter as ,uthbert 6rant to the $etis people e4plaining your shift in
perspectie towards the +B, oer the course of your life.
7 'rite a letter to future historians as 8ustice 9dam "hom e4plaining the erdict
in the &:0; case, including what happened at the trial, why he gae such a
erdict, and how you think he felt.
: 'rite a letter from an )nglish settler to 8ohn 9. $acdonald describing the
killing of "homas Scott and the eents leading up to it.
Students should write longer letters if they hae e4tra class time. 'hen they are done they
should fold up their letters and <mail them# in the mailbo4 by the door. Don#t forget to follow letter
format=
Name: Date: Block:
_____________________________
________________________________________________________
!etter structure:
Letter Writer
Local Address
City, Country
(Postal code, Phone Number)
- lines
"o: eci!ient, "itle
Local Address
City, Country
(Postal code, Phone Number)
Dear 2ecipient,
& paragraph > greeting and topic sentence
& > * paragraphs > main ideas, re?uests, and arguments
& paragraph summary and well.wishes
- lines
Sincerely,
- lines
Signature