There are so many great children's books that involve the writing of letters. In the age of email its still great to receive a real letter. I hope this page will give you some great ideas about introducing letter writing to young children.

The Jolly Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg	The Jolly Pocket Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Dear Mrs. LaRue by Mark Teague	Fairy Tale Mail Rozanne Lanczak Williams
No Mail for Mitchell by Catherine Siracusa	Dear Mr. Blueberry by Simon James
Click Clack Moo Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin	Giggle Giggle Quack by Doreen Cronin

Introduce the letter writing unit by sharing the above books, bring in different types of letters for students to discuss. The Jolly Postman is a wonderful book to share because it has actual letters you pull from envelopes and read. Children are fascinated by this book.
 

Develop lessons based on the following questions:
What is a letter?
Who are letters written to?
Why do people write letters?
What does a letter look like?

In my kindergarten class, we start by writing letters as a group. We then "mail" the letter and get a reply from characters in a story that we have read. It's fun to write to Nursery Rhyme characters and receive replies. If someone does something special for our class we write thank you notes.

Set up a post office in the classroom and encourage students to write to each other.

Compare different types of letters found in The Jolly Postman and the Jolly Pocket Postman.

Bring in other types of mail such as postcards, birthday, get well, and thank you cards. bring in business mail and flyers.

Discuss letters found in Click Clack Moo and Giggle Giggle Quack. Who are the letters written to? Why did the recipient reply?

This unit is most effective when introduced early in the school year and lessons repeated throughout the year as the children's writing progresses.
 

Jolly Postman Letters written by young children
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/rif/rifsters/StAnnesschoolcompentries.htm
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/rif/rifsters/CrossroadsSchool_compentries.htm
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/rif/rifsters/Jolly_postman_Entries.htm