Letter Writing Topics, Prompts, and Ideas for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders— Letter writing may not be in fashion anymore, but it’s still an incredibly valuable skill for people of all ages to have—and there’s no better time to introduce students to letter writing than in your classroom.
Of course, you know that students in grades third, fourth, and fifth may not be totally familiar with the letter writing process. Still, we hope that they will quickly grow to appreciate the art and the opportunity for deeper communication that letter writing brings.
Which is why…
The 32 topics to write about in a letter shown below begin with a few guiding questions to help your writers explore the value of the written letter. Then, students will dive into a variety of prompted letters and convey their thoughts and feelings to people like their parents, friends, popular media figures, and even their past and future selves.
As students write, they’ll learn how to clearly and concisely express their thoughts to a specific intended audience—all while practicing a traditional social experience.
So get to it and use this wonderful list of letter writing prompts for 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade class levels to help your kids learn the benefits of written communication!
Letter Writing Topics, Prompts, and Ideas for 3rd, 4th, and 5th Graders
- Why do people write letters to one another?
- Have you written many letters in your life? Who have you written to?
- What are the merits of writing a letter versus having a verbal conversation with someone?
- What scenarios can you think of where it would be beneficial to write someone a letter?
- Does a letter have the same impact if it is written digitally rather than by hand? Why or why not?
- Write a letter of thanks to one or both of your parents for the most recent thing they helped you with.
- Write a letter to your grandparents that describes what you’ve been doing lately at school.
- Write a letter to a friend that includes one or two of your favorite memories together.
- Write a letter to the president and share your opinion on a current event with him.
- Research a local issue and then write a letter to a local congressperson about it.
- Write a letter to “the world” in which you share your ideals for the future.
- Write a letter to your past self. Tell him or her things you wish you had known then.
- Write a letter to your future self. Share your hopes and dreams or things you’d like to remember with him or her.
- Write a letter to one of your ancestors telling them what your family is like today.
- Write a letter to someone from the future telling him or her what life is like here in the early 21st
- Write a letter to someone your age who lives in another country. Describe your life and find out how his or hers differs.
- Write a letter to an anonymous stranger. Tell him or her anything you’d like to share.
- Write a descriptive letter that could convince someone why your stance on an issue is correct.
- Write a letter to your favorite celebrity and tell him or her what you love about his or her work.
- Write an encouraging letter to yourself to read when you are feeling sad.
- Write a coded letter to a friend. Then, exchange letters and try to figure out what the other person wrote.
- Write an opinionated letter to your local newspaper about an issue that matters to you.
- Write a letter to someone you admire and tell the person what you appreciate about him or her.
- Write a letter of commitment that you want to make to yourself. Then, plan when and how often you will re-read it.
- Write a letter to someone you haven’t seen in a long time and catch him or her up on your life.
- Write a letter to someone you’re angry at and express all the things you’ve wanted to say—and then, destroy the letter!
- Write a letter to someone that you’d like to get to know better and introduce yourself.
- Write a letter to a school official and tell him or her one thing you’d like to see improved at our school.
- Write a letter in support of a charitable organization that you admire.
- Write a letter to your favorite character from a book, movie, or TV show. Ask him or her all your questions or share your favorite parts of his or her story.
- Write a letter nominating someone you know for an award they deserve. Explain why he or she is deserving of the honor.
- Write a letter to someone you appreciate and let him or her know how he or she has made an impact on your life.
I hope you enjoyed this list of letter writing topics.
A Few Final Thoughts on Letter Writing Topics
With the constant and immediate connections experienced through social media, learning how to pen a real letter is a valuable lesson. Whether they are writing a friendly letter to their mom or best friend, a formal letter of complaint, or a goodbye letter, kids will learn that old-fashioned mail is not a thing of the past!
For even more letter
writing fun, check out these 55 Inspiring Letter Ideas for Kids and Pen Pal Prompts for Summer (and Beyond)! I hope your students have a lot of fun with these letter writing topics!
Until next time, write on…
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Jill
journalbuddies.com
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