It is important to teach email writing in middle school. The world has changed so much over the years, and formal letter writing is usually used in specific circumstances now. Everything is done online, including messaging peers, friends, and family.
Think back to the days of letter writing. Maybe you have memories of writing a letter to your grandparents, a pen pal, Santa, or your school principal. Can you recall those pieces of notebook paper and the rules for writing a letter? We had to remember where to put the address, the comma after the salutation, and where to put the date.
Traditional letter formatting and writing are still important and necessary, but it isn’t used nearly as much today as it was 20 years ago. Email is now a major method of communication.
We were taught in school to format letters appropriately, so why shouldn’t email writing be taught similarly?
Below are seven reasons why you should teach email writing skills in middle school, as well as a ready-made resource you can use in your classroom.
Communication Skills
Email is a common form of communication in academic and professional settings. Teaching students how to write effective emails helps them develop crucial communication skills that will be valuable throughout their academic and professional lives.
Another crucial skill is resume and cover letter writing. You can learn more about that in this blog post: The Benefits of Teaching Resume Writing in Middle School.
Professionalism
Today, most young adults will communicate with classmates, teachers, friends and peers, employers, and college and university representatives via email. As with letter writing, this requires different strategies and techniques for approaching each recipient.
Learning how to compose well-structured, polite, and professional emails teaches students how to present themselves professionally in written correspondence. This skill is vital for future job applications, internships, and networking opportunities.
If you want to teach students about career exploration, have a look at either of these blog posts: 5 Reasons To Use Guided Career Exploration With Middle School Students or Fun Activities For Exploring The Trades.
Digital Literacy
Can you remember a time when being proficient in digital tools and platforms wasn’t a thing? It seems like a very long time ago! However, in today’s digital age, this proficiency is essential. Teaching email writing equips students with the necessary digital literacy skills to navigate online communication forms effectively.
Most students today are nearly guaranteed to spend part of their learning career engaged in some form of online learning environment, especially at the high school and college/university levels. The earlier students learn how to communicate properly with classmates and teachers in this type of environment, the better their chances for success!
Are you interested in teaching your students more about the importance of digital literacy? Check out this blog post: Engaging Middle School Digital Citizenship Lessons.
Writing Skills
Most students have cell phones and multiple social media accounts. Still, they don’t always realize that the “text speak” they use with their friends on these platforms is not appropriate for communicating with education representatives and future employers via email.
Email writing involves various elements of writing, such as organization, clarity, coherence, and conciseness. Teaching email writing helps students refine their writing skills and become more effective communicators overall.
This goes hand in hand with teaching grammar skills, which you can learn more about in this blog post: 10 Important Reasons to Teach Grammar in Middle School.
Critical Thinking
When you teach email writing, you teach students to think critically about their audience, purpose, and tone. They must consider the appropriate language and the level of formality based on the recipient and context. This helps them to build critical thinking skills.
If you want to start small with teaching students about crafting an email with context and recipient in mind, have a look at how to Teach Gratitude with Thank You Note Writing.
Etiquette and Respect
Teaching email etiquette instills the importance of respectful and courteous communication with students. This is crucial in both personal and professional interactions.
To do this, while you teach email writing skills, you can also teach students how to organize their thoughts before writing their emails. Learn more about this in this blog post: 3 Easy Ways to Help Middle School Students Organize Their Thinking.
Preparation for the Future
Email is a fundamental tool in many professions. When you teach email writing skills to students at a young age, it prepares them for future academic and career aspirations where effective email communication is required.
If you want to further prepare students for their future, you might also want to teach them about media literacy. You can learn more about this here: Engaging and Fun Media Literacy Lessons for Middle School Students.
With 6 engaging lessons, your students will learn how to communicate effectively in the digital age. From composing polite emails to navigating online learning platforms like Google Classroom™ and Microsoft Teams™, this unit covers it all. It also comes in print and digital formats, perfect for your classroom’s unique needs.
Lesson Overview:
- Lesson 1 – Email Etiquette
- Lesson 2 – LMS (Online Learning) Etiquette
- Lesson 3 – How To CC / BCC On An Email
- Lesson 4 – How To Attach Files To An Email
- Lesson 5 – How To Organize Your Inbox
- Lesson 6 – When To “Reply,” “Reply All,” and Forward an Email
You can find the Email Etiquette Unit on Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
If you want to teach email writing skills to students, it doesn’t have to feel daunting. With this unit, your students will be off to a good start toward being prepared for the future in both academic and professional settings. They will also be on their way to understanding the essential communication and digital literacy skills that are increasingly important in today’s interconnected world.