What Would Mia Write? �Front Desk
Front Desk
Unit 8 Lesson 1
Letters
Mia Tang From Front Desk
Mia is such a dynamic and interesting character, and she makes Front Desk a great read! Mia is a writer-or she’s working on being one! The best way to become a writer? WRITE!
This unit is all about giving you tons of writing opportunities, using what we’ve learned in these units.
WRITE, WRITE, WRITE!
Letter Writing
Mia lived in the 1990s when letter writing was more common. People still write letters today, but more often they write texts, messages or emails. It’s still good to know the parts of a letter, because they can be used in other types of communication. Letter writing also let Mia put her feelings and thoughts down on paper in a different way. Some letters are meant to be sent and some are meant to be just for you. Let’s examine what makes something a letter.
A letter is something that you write to someone to share information with them. It can be about someone’s life, an experience, something about school or a job. It can be to thank someone or to tell someone how you feel. You don’t usually tell a story in a letter, but in some cases, you could.
There are specific parts to a letter:
Letter Writing
Mia writes a lot of letters in Front Desk and for different reasons.
This is the letter that Mia wrote to Uncle Zhang’s employer when he wouldn’t return Uncle Zhang’s passport and ID!
Dear employer,
I am writing to you about your employee Zhang Xiling. Mr. Zhang says has told informed me that you have are in possession of his passport and ID. You gotta give it back! I request your quick immediate return of Mr. Zhang’s passport and ID. If you don’t do it, you’ll be sorry. Failure to do so will result in big trouble serious consequences. And don’t lie and say you did because I’m gonna ask Mr. Zhang! I will be asking following up with Mr. Zhang to see if you have returned his passport and ID. Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
Mia Tang
Lawyer
Parts of a Letter
Notice the different parts of Mia’s letter.
Greeting: Dear Employer,
Body: The written part TO the employer
Purpose: To inform the employer that he needs to return Mr. Zhang’s ID and passport.
Closing: Sincerely,
Signature: Mia Tang, Lawyer
Practice
Mia was an advocate for Uncle Zhang in her letter. That means she spoke up for him when he was in a tricky situation. Today you’ll write the opportunity to also write a similar letter.
Prompt: You notice a kid being treated poorly (location is your choice: playground, club house, school, bus, park…) by someone. You want to stick up for the kid, so you decide to write a letter to a grown up letting them know what’s happening and asking for help. You could write to a teacher, parent, principal, any trustworthy adult.
Your letter should include: a greeting, body (probably at least one paragraph), a stated reason for writing, closing, and signature.
You might have also noticed that the letter Mia wrote in the book, had a lot of words crossed out and changed on her letter. That’s because she went back and revised it, looking for the precise language to make her writing as strong as possible. Writers are constantly revising and changing their work! Try that with your letter, too.
Written Work
Mia wrote so many letters! Here are some examples so you can read them for yourself.
Additional Letter Writing Prompts