Book Spotlight: Sincerely, Emerson

Have you seen the new book Sincerely, Emerson? This is the perfect read aloud for your classroom. This book tells the true story of Emerson Weber. She loved to write letters. She wrote lots of letters to many different people, but she had never stopped to consider the people who make it all possible until one day. For the first time, she thought about her postman, Doug, and how day after day he came to her house and picked up her letters and passed them on until they were delivered to the person they were for. She realized that she had never officially thanked Doug for his work and decided to do something about it. She wrote Doug a letter, although at the time, she did not even know his name. She decorated that letter and stuck it out in the mailbox to wait for Doug. 

When Doug found her letter, things quickly changed for Emerson. She realized the power of appreciation and how important all the workers around us are. We each have a part, like a network, in our communities and world. 

It is am amazing book that shows the power of being thankful and kindness. It shows how important each person is in connecting our world. I loved it so much I purchased a copy and went to work scouring it for learning I could bring into my classroom. I divided it up into six different categories that I will use for my classroom.

Sincerely, Emerson: Reading Comprehension

Of course reading comprehension can be taught with any book. In this book, I plan to have students use inference skills and well as text evidence to answer questions. Students will also use questioning skills to create their own questions about the story and write them on a cootie catcher (i.e. fortune teller) that they can use to quiz a friend. 

Simply, Emerson: Figurative Language: Idioms

The second skill we will work on using this book is figurative language, specifically idioms. Students will examine an idiom together that is found in the book and will use that as a springboard into looking at other idioms. Last, students will connect back to one of the themes of the book, mail, by looking up idioms that have to do with mail or the postal service.

Simply, Emerson: Non-Fiction Article: Timeline

After that, my students will read a non-fiction article about stamps. In the article, they will discover that long ago people could send mail without a stamp and the person receiving it would pay a small fee for accepting the letter. They will learn about how stamps came to be and also how collectable stamps came on the scene. I will then have my students create a timeline showing the history of stamps. Afterward, they will get a chance to imagine their own stamp and design it. 

Simply, Emerson: Friendly Letters

I want my students to know how to write a friendly letter even though letters are not as commonly used any longer. I feel it is important for them to be able to compose a letter, using standard form. I will talk with my students about the five parts of a friendly letter. We will go over the heading, greeting, body, closing, and signature to figure out what each part is. Students will brainstorm people to whom we could send letters, like Emerson, to show our appreciation. Then I will have each student choose one person, from the community, to write. I will encourage them to write their letter using some of the same ideas that Emerson includes in hers, stories, jokes, questions, etc. We will mail them out and see if we get any responses...which is also very exciting to get. 

Simply, Emerson: Editing Addresses

While reading and learning about mail, we will also focus on the standard that asks students to use proper form when writing an address. I will pass out a large envelope filled with addressed letter sheets. Students will learn about where commas and capitals go. They will then examine each address to make sure it is written correctly.

Simply, Emerson: City Research

To close our study of this book, we will think about the many exciting places that letters travel that we have never been to. Each student will decided on a city that they want to learn more about. I will have students create a travel brochure for the city of their choice. Students will then share in small groups and the brochures will be on display for all students to look at.

It may be surprising that one little book can teach so much, but it can. From social-emotional learning (kindness and thankfulness), to reading comprehension (inference and finding evidence), from studying non-fiction and timelines, to writing letters and editing address, and even learning more about different cities around us. This book has so many different topics that can be brought in, reading, writing, and social studies. It is amazing what one little book can do.

If you would like to save yourself some time and be able to do some or all of these activities, you can click on the picture below to see my resource. But even if you do not snag this resource, I hope you will love this book as much as I did.