Writing Your Letter

1. Writing Your Letter Reading Really Pays

2. Today’s objectives • Students will understand the basic structure of the Reading Really Pays letter. • Students will understand how the final draft will look and sound.

3. What to include in your letter… • Heading - 555 Trojan Trail, Glasgow, KY 42141 and the date • Inside Address - Name, company and address of the person to whom you are writing • Salutation - make sure you follow it with a colon • Body • Closing • Signature - Be sure your signature is your handwritten name; type your name below your signature.

4. Okay, so most of that is easy, but what about the body? How many paragraphs? How long? What do I say in each paragraph? Watch carefully! The answers are coming!

5. Structure of the Body • Paragraph one - come up with a catchy introduction • Paragraph two - Explain Reading Really Pays • Paragraph three - Request an item, give a compliment, explain that the item should be sent to the school, and thank them for reading your letter, end with a powerful statement

6. Paragraph one could look like this: Dear Hot Topic: Did you know that more than eight million U.S. students in grades four through twelve struggle with reading, and that only three out of ten eighth graders read at or above grade level? 44 million adults in the U.S. can't read well enough to read a simple story to a child, and approximately fifty percent of the nation's unemployed youth are functionally illiterate with virtually no prospects of obtaining good jobs. These numbers are troubling! What could be done to solve this problem? Research has shown that even 15 minutes a day of independent reading can expose students to more than a million words of text in a year, and it has also been proven to raise I.Q. scores and improve academic performance.

7. Paragraph two could look like this: My school is trying to help solve this problem through a reading initiative called Reading Really Pays. This is how it works. When students read a book, they earn one penny for each page they read. At the end of the year, students use the money they earn through reading to bid on items at an auction. We write to various businesses and celebrities to request donations for the auction.

8. Paragraph three could look like this: We would truly appreciate a donation from Hot Topic such as an item from your store or a gift certificate. Many students shop at Hot Topic because they love the modern style of your store and because of the wide array of music and clothing. If you would like to send something to support the program, you can mail it to the school address listed above. Thank you for taking the time to read my letter, and please remember that your donation could make a big difference in the lives of many students.

9. All together, it should look something like this: c/o Barren County Middle School 555 Trojan Trail Glasgow, KY 42141 August 12, 2010 Hot Topic Inc. 18305 San Jose Avenue City of Industry, CA 91748 Dear Hot Topic: Did you know that more than eight million U.S. students in grades four through twelve struggle with reading, and that only three out of ten eighth graders read at or above grade level? 44 million adults in the U.S. can't read well enough to read a simple story to a child, and approximately 50 percent of the nation's unemployed youth are functionally illiterate, with virtually no prospects of obtaining good jobs. These numbers are troubling! What could be done to solve this problem? Research has shown that even 15 minutes a day of independent reading can expose students to more than a million words of text in a year, and it has also been proven to raise I.Q. scores and improve academic performance. My school is trying to help solve this problem through a reading initiative called Reading Really Pays. This is how it works. When students read a book, they earn one penny for each page they read. At the end of the year, students use the money they earn through reading to bid on items at an auction. We write to various businesses and celebrities to request donations for the auction. We would truly appreciate a donation from Hot Topic such as an item from your store or a gift certificate. Many students shop at Hot Topic because they love the modern style of your store and because of the wide array of music and clothing. If you would like to send something to support the program, you can mail it to the school address listed above. Thank for taking the time to read my letter, and please remember that your donation could make a big difference in the lives of many students. Sincerely, Bradford Smith