Lesson 29: March, Explanatory Letter Writing, Part 2

Say these Directions: Consider the letter writing you are going to complete today. Set a goal for your letter writing and the sentence combining strategy.

Model possible goal statement examples for students that use previously taught writing strategies.

• Optional Sentence Starters:

  • “My goal for letter writing is ____.”

    • My goal for letter writing is to explain the protestors’ purpose clearly and persuasively by using specific evidence from March and the informational article and keeping a formal tone. I will make sure each paragraph stays focused on one main idea and ends by explaining why that idea matters.

  • “My goal for sentence combining is ____.”

    • My goal for sentence combining is to combine short, repetitive sentences into smoother, more detailed sentences by using commas and transitions correctly. I will combine sentences to show cause and effect (because/as a result) so my writing is organized and formal.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Today, you will write a formal letter from the perspective of a Nashville student protestor, using what you learned from March and the informational article. As you draft, you will use sentence combining to connect ideas, add detail, and show clear cause-and-effect relationships. This will help your letter sound formal and cohesive.

Preparation for Letter Writing

Say these Directions: Look at the model sentences displayed from the previous lesson that show strong sentence combining. Identify the strategy used to combine the sentences. Explain how the strategy improves writing quality.

• The students enter the store, buy something, and then sit at the counter to show they are legitimate customers.

  • The strategy is combining actions in a series using commas and the conjunction “and.” This sentence combining improves writing quality because it reduces choppy sentences and shows the steps in a clear, logical sequence.

• The protestors followed a clear, disciplined plan, and they remained calm under refusal, which strengthened their argument that segregation policies were unfair.

  • The strategy is combining related ideas with a conjunction (and) and adding a cause-and-effect clause (which strengthened . . .). This improves writing quality because it explains why the details matter, not just what happened, and it makes the reasoning clearer for the reader.

Say these Directions: Take out the letter outline completed for homework and review it to understand how to structure the letter for this lesson’s writing work.

Introduction:

• Ask: What should be included in the introduction of the letter?

  • The protestors introduce themselves, name the issue, and clearly state why they are writing. They also preview their purpose by explaining that they are using nonviolent action to challenge unfair treatment.

Body Paragraph: Provide information about the “what” and “why.”

• Ask: What information do the protestors need to share? Why do the protestors want to desegregate the lunch counters? How should they explain their purpose to an audience who doesn’t know what the cause is or why they are doing it?

  • The protestors should describe what happens at the lunch counters and how the rules treat Black customers unfairly, even when they are paying customers. They should explain that desegregation is necessary because equal access to public spaces is a basic right and because segregation harms people’s dignity and daily lives. They should also explain their method by describing how nonviolent protest works so the audience understands that their purpose is to create change without violence.

Conclusion:

• Ask: What should go in the conclusion? Ultimately, what do the protestors want and why?

  • The protestors restate their main claim and make a clear request. They end by emphasizing that their goal is desegregation of the lunch counters, and they may include a final statement that they will continue nonviolent action until equal treatment is achieved.

Say these Directions: As you review your outline, add one note about how you will keep your letter formal and one note about what your conclusion will do for the reader.

Say: When I plan for formal style, I think about my audience and choose language that sounds respectful, precise, and serious. Then I plan my conclusion so it does more than repeat my thesis statement. A strong conclusion grows out of the explanation I already gave, reminds the reader what matters most, and leaves them with a clear final request or takeaway.

• Ask: What kinds of words or phrases will help your letter maintain a formal style from beginning to end?

  • Formal style uses respectful and precise words like unjust, necessary, discipline, and support instead of casual phrases or slang. The writer should sound serious and focused because the audience is a community member who may need to be persuaded.

• Ask: What should your conclusion do besides repeat the main idea?

  • The conclusion should follow from the explanation by restating the protestors’ purpose, showing why it matters, and ending with a clear request for support. It should sound connected to the evidence in the body paragraphs, not like a brand-new idea.

Provide students with a brief amount of time to add to their outlines based on this instruction.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Today, you will use sentence combining as you draft your letter so your ideas sound organized and formal. Combining sentences will help you explain events with stronger detail and show how one action led to another, which strengthens your reasoning. As you write, aim to connect your evidence and explanations smoothly so your letter is clear and cohesive.

Part A: Explanatory Letter Writing (W.8.2.a-f, W.8.4) (20 minutes)

Say these Directions: Draft a letter using the following prompt:

• Say: Imagine you are one of the protestors from the Nashville student movement. Practice writing a letter that explains the Nashville student protestors' campaign to desegregate lunch counters. Think of your audience as someone who doesn't know about this nonviolent protest. Your job is to explain what the protestors were arguing for and why their arguments were compelling, using evidence from both sources.

Remember to use sentence combining to create more complex and varied sentences and to use the vocabulary associated with the topics of nonviolent protest, the lunch counter sit-ins, and desegregation. Also, maintain a formal style from your greeting to your closing, and end with a concluding section that follows from your explanation and makes a clear final point.

Dear Community Member,

I am a Nashville student volunteer writing to explain why we are participating in lunch counter sit-ins and why we believe desegregation is necessary. In downtown department stores, we can pay the same prices as white customers, yet we are refused basic services, including the right to sit and eat at the lunch counter (March, p. 83). This treatment is humiliating, and it sends a message that Black customers do not belong, even when we are spending our money like everyone else.

Because we want our message to be clear, we are using nonviolence as both a discipline and a strategy. Reverend James Lawson taught us the philosophy behind nonviolence, and then he trained us to practice it under pressure so we would be prepared to stay calm even when others tried to provoke us. We rehearsed how to respond to insults and violence without striking back, and our demonstrations followed strict rules, including “don’t strike back or curse if abused” and “show yourself courteous and friendly at all times” (“Jim Lawson Conducts Nonviolence Workshops in Nashville”). That training shows up in our plan for the sit-ins: We enter the store, purchase an item first, and then sit at the counter as legitimate customers, asking respectfully to be served (March, p. 84). If we are refused, we leave without creating a scene, emphasizing our self-control with the repeated idea “No harsh words. No violence.” (March, p. 86). We also stay organized by assigning roles, including a designated person who speaks for the group during the action (March, p. 85), because clear roles help us remain focused and protect one another.

We are not trying to cause trouble. We are trying to show the truth of segregation in a way the public cannot ignore. When we respond with discipline instead of retaliation, it becomes harder to blame us for the injustice we are challenging, and it becomes easier for others to see that segregation is the real problem. We ask our community to support desegregation, to recognize our right to equal service, and to stand with students who are taking peaceful, organized action to make Nashville more just.

Sincerely,

A Nashville Student Volunteer

Part B: Review Explanatory Letters (W.8.5) (10 minutes)

Turn and Talk

Say these Directions: Turn and talk to share your draft letter with your partner. Read your partner’s letter and look for opportunities in which they could use sentence combining to develop their ideas more fully or to create more cohesion and connection between their ideas. Then, provide each other with feedback.

Lesson 29 Writing Rubric: Explanatory Letter Draft — Nashville Sit-Ins

Writing prompt: Imagine you are one of the Nashville student protestors. Write a letter that explains the campaign to desegregate lunch counters for an audience who does not know about this nonviolent protest, using evidence from both March: Book One (pp. 77–86) and “Jim Lawson Conducts Nonviolence Workshops in Nashville.”

Reflection

Say these Directions: Think and respond to the following question:

• Ask: “How did you make progress with your writing goal during this lesson?”

  • Optional Sentence Starter: “I made progress with my writing goal by ____.”

    • I made progress with my writing goal by combining short sentences into clearer, more detailed sentences, which helped my letter sound more formal and connected. I also added linking words like because and as a result, so the reader could follow the cause-and-effect relationship between the protestors’ actions and the message of nonviolent discipline.

Have students read pp. 90–102 of March. Instruct students to take notes in their Journal on the following prompt:

As you read, annotate the text for the following:

• How are the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence further developed in this section of the text?