Mail: Postal Workers, Letters and Envelopes

1. Mail:Postal Workers, Letters and Envelopes Jennifer Norris Erica Tyler

2. Objectives Students will: • Identify postal service worker as a community helper job • Students will identify the different jobs of a postal worker • Understand the parts of a letter and how to address a letter so a postal worker can deliver it.

3. Academic Content Standards • Identify and correctly use terms related to location, direction, and distance including • Left/right • Near/far • Identify and use symbols to locate places of significance on maps or globes. • Locate the Local community, state and United States on maps or globes.

4. Activity 1 • Discuss the importance of a postal service worker. • Using interactive writing have students describe a postal worker, as far as uniform, job, transportation. • Read The Jolly Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg

5. Materials Needed:Activity 1 • The Jolly Postman by Allan and Janet Ahlberg • Chart paper • Markers

6. Activity 2 • Students will discuss the different things that are important to an address. • Students will learn what a zip code is • Students will address an envelope with an address, a return address, and a stamp all in the correct place.

7. Materials Needed:Activity 2 • Envelopes • Pens or pencils • Stickers that look like stamps • Real stamps if you are actually sending the letters • Address book

8. Activity 3 Interview a Mail Carrier • Students will write 2 questions each about the job of a mil carrier • They will use reference books from the library to help come up with questions to ask • As they talk if they develop questions these too can be asked

9. Materials Needed:Activity 3 • Index cards • Pencil • Mail carrier volunteer

10. Activity 4 In this activity students will send mail to someone of their choice. • Write a letter with a heading, date, greeting, body, and closing. • Address and stamp envelope • Drop of letter at Post Office

11. Materials Needed:Activity 4 • Pencils Pens Crayons • Paper • Envelopes • Stamps • Parts of a letter checklist

12. Activity 5 Where does a letter go? • Students will discuss the sorting process that goes on within the post office. • Game: Where does this letter go? Teacher will have a different collection of maps ones that represent the community state and the United states as well as a few easily identifiable foreign countries. Letters will be addressed to each of these places and students will be expected to find the address on the map and match the two together.

13. Activity 5 Materials Needed • Community Map • State Map • Map of The United States • Globe • Mock envelopes addressed to places locatable on each of the above listed maps.

14. Lesson Enhancing Websites • http://www.billybear4kids.com/post/office.htm • At this website students can put their address in and get mail sent to them monthly. • http://www.crayola.com/lesson-plans/detail/all-in-one-envelopes-lesson-plan/ • This is lesson for teachers to use to make a piece of fold and mail stationary with their students.

15. Websites Continued: • http://pbskids.org/arthur/parentsteachers/activities/acts/post_office.html • This is an activity similar to the interview of the postal worker and is related to an Arthur episode. • http://www.epals.com/ • This website is a tool that connects classrooms all over the United States and the rest of the world for pen pals! • http://www.flatstanley.com/how.html • This is the how to for doing a Flat Stanley lesson where students send mail and journal.