ABSTRACT
A letter to a newspaper or a letter to the school council can be used to put forward an argument and express an opinion about an issue. Ask groups to study the four letters which were entered for a competition in which children were asked to write a letter on an issue which concerned them. Imagine they were judging the competition. Invite the children to draft their own letters to a newspaper on an issue which they feel strongly about. Then, in groups, encourage them to assess each other's letters and to suggest how they might be redrafted and improved. Prompt them, as necessary, with suggestions about things that the school needs, which they might not suggest such as a new school library or for the old school hall to be refurbished. Then ask them individually to write a letter to the governors saying what they think the money should be spent on and why.
