The History and Art of Letter Writing—A Practical Course
In this five-day class you will learn what makes a letter a letter; study the different types of letters; examine famous letters through history; and practice writing meaningful, graceful letters to those you care about.
Tory Anderson
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:(452)
What's included
5 live meetings
3 hrs 45 mins in-class hoursHomework
1 hour per week. Students will be asked to write two letters to share with the class.Class Experience
US Grade 4 - 7
Letter writing is an exercise in thoughtfulness, storytelling, and critical thinking. The form of communication builds writing, thinking, and communication skills. The art of letter writing is not lost, but still enjoyed by those with the desire to communicate more meaningfully with friends and loved ones in a "blurb" world. Students will learn about letters and participate in writing them for class. In this class we will study: Unit 1: What exactly is a letter—We will study the written form of personal communication and what it is that makes a letter a letter. Unit 2: The History of letters—We will study examples of personal letters throughout history from the famous and not so famous. Unit 3: Writing graceful letters to strangers—We will examine the various forms of letters that are often written to total strangers out of need or curiosity (inquiries, introduction, business proposals) and write a practice letter. Unit 4: Writing colorful letters to those we care about—Receiving a well-written letter from someone we love is a delight. Even more delightful is to write such a letter. In this section students will learn how to write such a letter. Unit 5: Students will demonstrate what they have learned by sharing a letter they have written for the class.
Learning Goals
Students will discover:
What a letter is
The history of letters
The techniques of writing letters to strangers
The art of writing colorful letters to those we care about
The experience of writing a letter
Other Details
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined June, 2020
4.9
452reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
Receiving a master’s degree in English from BYU with an emphasis in creative writing was the beginning of a lifelong love affair with all things creative: novels, plays, movies, painting, music, dance, origami, cosplay, juggling, computer games, DnD . . . the list goes on.
On the STEM side of life I spent eight years in the United States Air Force as a radar technician. Working with the highly mobile radar of a forward air control post I traveled the world in C-130s, was buzzed by A-10s, and became proficient with various weaponry. Since the third grade I have been a student of the history of military aircraft, especially World War II.
As a published author of many short stories and four young adult novels I’m ready to help students create with the written word. In creative writing I teach the power of the word, the beauty of the sentence, the joy of the completed story. As a university instructor in critical reading/writing, I learned that a good author won’t tell you anything. A good author wants to see what you see after you read his/her book. We will learn how to know what we see and how to talk and write about it.
As a dad I homeschooled all eight of my children to support positive, independent thinking. I kept reading with my children long after they could read for themselves—until they left for college. I advocate reading and writing with classroom presentations and programs. I’ve been mentoring youth writers in the Juab Jotters writing group for several years.
When I’m not teaching you will find me pursuing my own never ending education, playing computer games with my children (great family time), cosplaying (last year it was Mystery Men), and spending time with my children and grandchildren (soon to be six).
Reviews
Live Group Class
$50
for 5 classes1x per week, 5 weeks
45 min
Completed by 8 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 9-14
3-9 learners per class
