Writing Lesson Plan: An Informal Letter (2nd BAC – Cultural Values)

 

About This Writing Lesson Plan (2nd BAC – Informal Letter)

This writing lesson plan is designed for 2nd Year Baccalaureate classes in Morocco and focuses on informal letter writing within Unit 6: Cultural Values (Ticket to English 2). It guides students to reply to an American pen pal while showcasing Moroccan cultural values such as greetings, hospitality, food, festivals, and respect.

The lesson follows a process writing approach enhanced by synchronous collaborative editing using Google Docs. Students work in small groups to co‑author and co‑edit a letter in real time, which strengthens their writing skills, digital literacy, and ability to negotiate meaning in English.

How to use this plan:

• For 2nd BAC classes: Use it as a complete 45–60 minute writing session aligned with the textbook and exam expectations.
• For large or mixed‑ability classes: Adapt group sizes, assign stronger students as editors, and provide sentence starters for weaker learners.
• If tech is limited: Run the same procedure on paper (group posters) and do peer editing by swapping drafts between groups.

Below you’ll find the full lesson plan: objectives, competencies, procedure (6 stages), assessment, and homework. You can copy it into your scheme of work or adapt it to your own context.

Teacher: [Your Full Name]    |    School: Mohamed 6 High School, Oujda    |    School Year: 2025 / 2026
Level / Class	2nd Year Baccalaureate (All streams)	Subject	English – Writing
Textbook / Unit	Ticket to English 2 – Unit 6: Cultural Values[web:160]	Lesson Type	Writing (Informal Letter)
Duration	45–60 minutes	Date	…… / …… / 2026
Lesson Title	Writing an Informal Letter (Reply to an American Pen Pal about Moroccan Cultural Values)
Approach / Editing Method	Process writing with synchronous collaborative writing (real-time collaborative editing using a shared online document such as Google Docs).[web:224][web:228][web:229]
Objectives	By the end of the lesson, students will be able to: Plan and write an informal reply letter to an American pen pal about Moroccan cultural values. Use appropriate layout and expressions of informal letters (greeting, opening, body, closing).[web:38] Collaborate in real time to edit and improve a shared letter (content, organisation, language) using comments and suggestions.[web:224][web:229]
Targeted Competencies	Written production (coherence, cohesion, accuracy) in exam-like informal letters. Collaboration and negotiation of meaning through synchronous editing.[web:224] Intercultural awareness: describing Moroccan cultural values to a foreign peer.[web:160]
Prerequisites	Students have previously seen an example of an informal letter (Unit 6) and basic cultural values vocabulary. Students can use basic ICT tools (logging into Google, typing, sharing a document).
Materials / Tools	Model informal letter (from textbook or teacher-made). Internet-connected devices (per pair/group). Shared Google Docs templates (one per group) with letter skeleton and checklist.[web:225][web:228] Projector / board for brainstorming and displaying the template.
PROCEDURE
Stage 1 Warm-up & Activation	Time: 5–7 min	Teacher’s role: Ask students: “What cultural values do you want to show to an American pen pal?” Elicit ideas: greetings, hospitality, food, festivals, respect, traditional clothes… and write them on the board. Students’ role: Brainstorm in whole class; suggest key words and short examples.
Stage 2 Model Analysis	Time: 10 min	Teacher’s role: Project / distribute a short model informal letter answering a similar pen-pal question (Unit 6).[web:38] Ask students (in pairs) to identify: greeting, opening, body, closing, signature; highlight 3–4 useful expressions. Summarise on the board: informal letter layout + key expressions (Thanks for your letter, I’m writing to…, Write back soon). Students’ role: Read the model, underline parts (greeting/body/closing) and useful phrases. Share observations; copy layout and expressions into notebooks.
Stage 3 Setting Up Real-Time Collaboration	Time: 5 min	Teacher’s role: Divide class into small groups (3–4 students). Share a Google Docs template link for each group (with letter skeleton + instructions).[web:225][web:228] Briefly explain roles: Writer 1 (intro), Writer 2 (cultural values), Writer 3 (closing), others as editors. Students’ role: Join their group document from their device. Agree on who will be Writer 1/2/3 and who will start as editor.
Stage 4 Collaborative Drafting	Time: 15–20 min	Teacher’s role: Give the writing prompt: reply to an American pen pal (Alex) asking about Moroccan cultural values. Circulate between groups, monitor participation, and insert quick comments in Docs (e.g. “Add greeting”, “Check verb tense”).[web:224] Students’ role: Use the template to draft the letter in real time (each writer focusing on a paragraph). Editors watch the screen and add comments/suggestions (without deleting ideas). Make sure to include at least 3 cultural elements (greetings, hospitality, food, celebrations, respect).
Stage 5 Synchronous Collaborative Editing	Time: 10–15 min	Teacher’s role: Ask groups to switch Docs to “Suggesting” mode or use comments for editing.[web:228] Project an editing checklist: layout, content, language (connectors, tense, capitalisation). Guide one group live on the projector (modelling how to accept/reject suggestions). Students’ role: Swap roles: previous writers now act as editors; editors fine‑tune sentences. Use the checklist to: correct layout, improve content, fix language errors, add connectors. Negotiate changes in real time (synchronous collaborative editing).[web:224][web:229]
Stage 6 Sharing & Feedback	Time: 5–10 min	Teacher’s role: Select one or two group letters to project. Highlight strengths (clear layout, good cultural examples, nice expressions). Suggest 1–2 concrete improvements (e.g. stronger closing sentence, clearer example). Students’ role: Listen, comment respectfully, and note good expressions they can re-use. Apply final changes in their group document if time allows.
Assessment	Teacher checks group Google Docs for: correct layout, relevant cultural content, appropriate expressions, evidence of peer editing (comments/suggestions). Informal oral feedback during circulation + short written comments at the end.
Homework / Extension	Each student copies the final group letter into their notebook and underlines 5 useful expressions + 5 cultural vocabulary items. Optional: students write an individual informal reply to a different pen pal, using the group letter as a model.

💡 Tips for Adaptation & Follow‑Up

This lesson can be easily adapted to different classroom realities in Morocco:

• Differentiation: Give weaker students a list of ready‑made expressions (greetings, closings, cultural phrases) and ask them to focus on accurate copying and small additions. Challenge stronger students to add more complex sentences and connectors.
• Limited devices: If only one or two students have smartphones, make them “group scribes” while the rest dictate and edit orally. Alternatively, use one shared document projected on the board for the whole class.
• Exam focus: Emphasize layout, appropriate informal expressions, and coherence, as these are key criteria in BAC writing tasks. Use the final group letters as models for individual exam practice.

Next steps: After this lesson, you can assign an individual informal letter as homework or exam practice, using the group letter as a model. You may also connect this to other BAC writing forms (e.g., formal letters, articles, reports) by comparing layout and language.

Related lessons:

• How to Write a Good Paragraph in English (7‑Step Guide)
• The OHEE Method: Teaching Grammar Through Discovery

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