“Together, we all play a role in being change agents to make our world better.” ― Germany Kent
If you read my last blog post, you know that my 9th grade English students spent over a month brainstorming, composing, editing, and polishing up their persuasive writing skills by sending Outrageous Request Letters. They have been in the mail for a little under a month and I confess to obsessively checking my mailbox in the office multiple times per day hoping for responses.
Drumroll please….the first Outrageous Request Letter of the year was granted!
Miss Lila Eagle, wrote to Lakeshore Learning in hopes of receiving 20 wobble stools for her mom, Daniela Eagle’s, classroom. After being a parapro and substitute teacher for ten years, Daniela went back to college to get her teaching certificate and this year was hired to be a special education teacher at GMHS.
Lila wrote the following: “I’m from a small rural town in Upper Michigan called Gwinn, the population of our school district as of 2023 is 1,015. Even though our population is small we have one of the highest rates of students with IEPs or specialized learning plans in the county with 23% of our students having a learning disability. With our school being small we don’t have as much income as other schools in the area leading to us being understaffed and oftentimes we don’t have all of the materials we would like to have…”
“I chose to ask for alternative seating for our classrooms because I think a lot of students would benefit from it. My mom, Daniela Eagle is a Special Ed teacher here at Gwinn and she said that she notices a lot of students not being able to sit still or focus during lessons. With a lot of students with disabilities they can’t focus or they may take longer to do tasks that other students can and need to be moving or fidgeting. With wobble stools students can fidget or keep moving during a lesson and they will be more silent than if they hadn’t had a wobble stool.“
One of my favorite parts of this assignment is mail call. Yesterday at the beginning of the hour I presented Lila with Lakeshore’s letter. The anticipation in the room was tangible as Lila tore open the envelope to read the fantastic news that her wish for 20 wobble stools would be granted. To keep the excitement going, I marched the entire class down to Mrs. Eagle’s room to let her read the letter herself.
As a writing teacher, I cannot imagine a better way to teach students about the power of writing. I hope that Lila feels empowered by this experience. With Lila’s help, students who struggle with sitting still will have alternative seating and will be able to focus on their lessons.
In addition to granting Lila’s request, Lakeshore Learning’s response included the following feedback, “Mr. Kaplan recently reviewed your letter and was very impressed with how much thought you put into your assignment and how well you presented your request. Very persuasive indeed… You have a very bright future and we at Lakeshore wish you continued success.”
I love this photo! What a thrill it was to capture this “Proud Mom and Proud Daughter” moment.
Thank you Lakeshore Learning for giving a hand up to our district and for providing me with the priceless opportunity to teach my students that our words and writing matters. Congratulations, Lila, on using your voice to make your community a better place!
My fingers are crossed for more updates in the coming days. I love my job and I love my students. ❤
“After nourishment, shelter, and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” — Philip Pullma
My students love to choose brightly colored envelopes to mail their letters.
It is the most wonderful time of the year. My 9th grade students’ Outrageous Request Letters hit the mailbox yesterday!
We discussed persuasive writing techniques using the Rhetorical Triangle: Ethos, Pathos, Logos , I reinforced the writing process by having them brainstorm, research, write 3-4 drafts (after I give feedback on each draft), and learn how to address an envelope. It truly takes grit and constant reminders to convince 14 and 15 year olds to use spell check, to revise, and the addressing-the-envelope part can be a true test of teacher patience.
However, reading the final version of their letters is a pleasure. Some make me laugh and others make me misty eyed.
This is another project made more exciting by the generosity of those who support my classroom via Donors Choose. The bright colorful envelopes, stickers, stamps, and even stationery for those who want to handwrite their requests. Thank you to my family and friends who donate and help make this project more magical. (*Note – never underestimate the power of stickers on teenagers. They LOVE stickers 🙂 )
I promise to keep you posted on requests that are granted. We’ve had some incredible ones over the years: $3,500 from Kohls for a local foster care agency, close to $6,000 of products from Wahl for a local barbershop, and $1,000 from Meijer for a local bike club. Plus, tons of other items for students and their loved ones.
Most of all, the takeaway that I want my students to glean from the assignment is that their words, their writing, and their stories matter.
(See below for media posts about some of the Outrageous Requests that have been granted.)
The 2023-2024 school year marks my 23rd year of teaching 9th grade English. My guiding philosophy behind why I do what I do is that I want to be an encourager of stories. I want my students to know that their voices and their stories matter.
In the early years of my teaching career, I found an article about a teacher who challenged their students to write letters asking companies and celebrities to grant an “Outrageous Request”. I guided my students through the assignment for several years and we received many responses. However, I let the assignment fall to the wayside.
One year I brought the “Outrageous Request Letter” back to my classroom. I decided that I could incorporate elements of persuasive writing into the lesson using the Rhetorical Triangle (Ethos, Pathos, and Logos). Not only would these writing elements help my students persuade others to grant their requests, but this methodology would help prepare them for the SAT Essay that they take their junior year.
I love that I can check off so many standards/benchmarks with this assignment. Not to mention that the students get really excited to send their letters off. I often reflect on the fact that I am “tricking them into learning” since writing a letter where their wildest wishes may be answered is so much more interesting for them than writing a standard essay.
Not only does this assignment help them understand the Rhetorical Triangle, but it also teaches:
*Revision (my students write 3-4 drafts of their letter) *Addressing an envelope (something many of my students have never done) *Writing for a “real world audience” (they love that someone will actually receive their letter, open it, and read it) *Ponder a counter-argument to their request (important for persuastive writing) *Internet research (for various aspects of Ethos, Pathos, and Logo and to do preliminary research on who they are writing to) *Defies the stereotypical narrative that teenagers are buried in their phones and only care about themselves. They are insightful, creative, and can be agents of change when given the proper avenue.
While I tell my students that it is okay for them to ask for something for themselves, I do not introduce the assignment as an opportunity to “get free things” In fact, I celebrate the assignment as a way to help others. We engage in conversations about their community and needs that others may have. When I encourage my students to contemplate their community we discuss how broad their community truly is: family, friends, GACS (teachers, support staff, administrators, coaches, students), organizations they are part of such as youth group, sports, etc, the town they live in, and Marquette County as a whole.
I do not allow students to write to local businesses since they already sponsor so many school activities. I try to get my students to think outside the box and imagine things that maybe are not tangible – experiences and opportunities.
I could write a long list of items that students have received over the years. Their persuasive writing skills have gathered: art supplies, snacks, clothing, a snowboard, cheerleading mats, winter boots, shoes, services of a private investigator, and so much more.
This assignment has afforded me the opportunity to suprise my students and these unveilings have been major highlights in my teaching career.
Ultimately, as a writer and English teacher, I want my students to glean from this assignment how powerful our stories are and that our voices and words matter. Being able to communicate clearly is vital to our role as humans. This assignment is an evocative way to demonstrate the power of writing! I love being an encourager and guide. I love my career and I love my students.
*If you are a teacher and want more information about the Outrageous Letter Request assignment, contact me at amy.waldo@gwinnschools.org
Glitter and Dog Hair 