7 Reasons to Teach Your Students How to Write Emails
Have you ever gotten an email from a student and it made you want to scream? Perhaps their subject line was in ALL CAPS and they appeared to be yelling at you. Or maybe they wrote the entire email in the subject line. Or, most likely, they didn’t even include a subject line at all.
We have received one too many emails from our students that are catastrophic, and it’s likely that you have too! This became especially apparent when we went remote in 2020 and email became a primary mode of communication. We quickly realized that our students had many reasons for utilizing email; asking teachers about times of sessions, requesting help on a posted homework, or even just to ask for missed notes. However, they didn’t know how to write emails that were specific, appropriate, and…polite.
Working in high schools, we must consider how our students will transition into the real world. Email is a critical life skill they will be expected to use, whether they go to college, get a job, or go to trade school. What better way to make your therapy sessions FUNCTIONAL than to incorporate lessons about email writing?!
Read on to see the 7 most important reasons why your students should know how to write emails:
Students will have to write emails to their teachers
Your students will have to ask their teachers questions after school hours and email is the best way to do this. Teach them how to write emails for different purposes such as asking for help, a time extension, or letting the teacher know they will be absent.
Students will have to write emails to their college professors
Set your students up for success in college! College can be intimidating – large lectures with over 100 students, independent projects, and high expectation levels. Help your students feel confident in their ability to email a professor for various purposes.
Students will have to write emails to their bosses
At some point in the future, hopefully all of your students will be entering the workforce. Help them prepare to send emails to their bosses for various reasons, like requesting vacation time off or asking to change their work schedule.
Students will have to write emails to customer service
How many times have you had to email a company’s customer service? Perhaps you needed to return an item or request a refund. There are many reasons for emailing a company – help your students feel comfortable writing to a company or business about a service/product.
Students will have to write emails responding to job openings and following up on interviews
Writing emails to potential employers is something that can make or break getting a job.
Emails are one way employers will be judging your students after they interview them. Prepare your students to send initial and follow up emails that are professional and appropriate.
Students will have to write emails to friends and family
One way to keep in touch with friends and family is email. Teach your students that although emails to close friends and family can be less formal in their writing styles, this doesn’t make them any less important to practice!
Emailing is a critical life skill that will be invaluable for the rest of their lives
Plain and simple, everyone will be emailing someone at one point in their lives. While your students may be totally comfortable texting and sending DM’s on social media, teach them the importance of learning to write emails. Once they see how important this skill is, we guarantee they will appreciate you taking the time to work on this with them. They may even write you an email one day to thank you!
Our email writing unit is full of lessons, activities, and checklists to help you teach your students how to write emails. We’ve included 10 functional scenarios for writing emails that will help your students feel 100% confident in their email writing abilities. Head over to our TpT store to check this resource out and let us know what you think!
