Teaching Letter Writing to Grade 11 Students

The first lesson I taught to the Grade 11 students during my stay at SMAN 3 Medan was about Friendly Letters. I had a much better time teaching them because I had learned from my previous mistakes and made the lesson more interactive and relatable.

For my motivation, I asked the students to play a game called "Pass the Message." I grouped the students into seven and used Bahasa Indonesia to count, which amused them. I asked each group to come in front and whisper a message written on a strip of paper to each other. After that, they would write the message on the whiteboard.

I then showed a brief video on letter writing, and lectured about the parts of a letter. For their activity, I let them listen to Wiz Khalifa's song, "When I See You Again", and answer guide questions afterward.

The guide questions were...

1.Based on the video you watched, why do you think personal letters are important?

2.How did the singer feel about saying goodbye to his friend? Why did he feel that way?

3.What does the lyric, “AND I’LL TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT WHEN I SEE YOU AGAIN” mean to you?

4. Can friendly letters help you stay close to your friends and loved ones when you are far away from them? Why or why not?

This was a much better experience for me because the students were more attentive and enjoyed listening to the song. It made me realize that as a teacher, you need to connect to your students and show them the relevance of the topic you are teaching.