• Students write a letter to Thoko, the main character in the book Saving Planet Earthly, describing what they will do to help the Earth.

Positives

• This is a fun way of introducing kids to letter writing.
• Students are empowered to take action to help fight climate change.

Additional Prerequisites

• Students must read Saving Planet Earthly before writing a letter to Thoko. Teachers can use this lesson plan to read the book aloud with their class.
• Since the book is a digital copy, the teacher should consider the most appropriate way of making it available (projected or individual devices). 
• As indicated in the teacher's guide, it may be best to provide a framework that will guide students in writing the letter.

Differentiation

• Teachers can email their students' digitized letters to schools@climatescience.org. This can be great extrinsic motivation for students.
• Teachers can guide students through a peer-review process to help students get feedback and improve their writing.
• Students can read their letters out loud to their class or post them around the classroom to read.
• Some of the letters can be published in a school newspaper or on the school website.
• Handwriting Practice With Earthly is another lesson that pairs with the same children's book.
• For older or more advanced students, consider this lesson where students write to their energy minister.

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.