Letter to Future Self

Overview

This 45-minute lesson supports Year 2 students in writing a personal letter to their future selves about their dreams and aspirations. It aligns with the National Curriculum for England's requirements for writing, composition, and speaking & listening. The lesson combines speaking, planning, drafting, and reflective writing tasks to promote engagement and skill development.

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National Curriculum Links

Writing

• Pupils should be taught to:
  • Write sentences by: saying out loud what they are going to write about, composing a sentence orally before writing it, sequencing sentences to form short narratives (NC p.32, English Appendix 1)
  • Use conjunctions to join sentences (e.g., and, but)
  • Use capital letters for proper nouns and the personal pronoun ‘I’
  • Begin to use basic features of written standard English
  • Write for different purposes (including letters)

Spoken Language

• Pupils should be taught to:
  • Participate in discussions, role play and improvisations, listening and responding appropriately to others
  • Articulate and justify answers, arguments and opinions

Reading: Comprehension

• Pupils should be taught to:
  • Discuss the sequence of events in books and how items of information are related

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this session, pupils will:

1. Understand the structure and purpose of a letter to a future self.
2. Plan and write a simple letter expressing their dreams and goals clearly.
3. Use basic sentence punctuation, including capital letters and full stops.
4. Share and discuss their letters with peers, practising speaking and listening skills.

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Resources

• Whiteboard and markers
• Examples of simple letters (teacher-prepared)
• Personal writing books or lined paper
• Pencils and coloured pencils
• "Dream Box" template (optional - a simple box drawing to decorate their letter for future self)
• Timer or visual time tracker

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Lesson Structure

1. Starter (5 minutes)

• Teacher shows an example of a simple letter to a future self on the whiteboard.
• Discuss with the class: "What do you think this letter is? Who is it for?"
• Use questioning to elicit understanding of letter parts (greeting, body, closing).
• Recap key features of a letter: greeting (Dear…), the message, and a sign-off (From…).

2. Guided Discussion and Planning (10 minutes)

• Ask pupils to think about their dreams and goals (prompt with questions):
  • What do you want to be when you grow up?
  • What things would you like to learn or be better at?
  • What makes you happy or proud?
• Introduce a simple planning sheet or template:
  • Greeting: Dear Future Me
  • Dream 1
  • Dream 2
  • Closing / sign-off
• Model filling out the planning template as a class, encouraging sentence ideas, focusing on using 'I want to…' or 'I will…'.

3. Independent Writing (20 minutes)

• Pupils write their letter to their future selves.
• Remind them to write clearly and use capital letters for 'I' and names.
• Encourage use of conjunctions (and, but) to link ideas where possible.
• Teacher circulates, offering support with spelling and sentence formation.
• Pupils may decorate a simple box or frame around the letter for visual appeal.

4. Sharing and Reflection (8 minutes)

• Pupils pair up to read their letters aloud to each other, practising clear speaking and listening.
• Ask volunteers to share their letters with the whole class (if comfortable).
• Highlight positive use of sentence structures and vocabulary.

5. Plenary (2 minutes)

• Review: What did you learn about writing a letter today?
• How do writing letters help us think about our futures?
• Encourage pupils to take letters home and keep them safe to read in the future.

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Assessment

• Formative assessment through observation during planning and writing phases.
• Use a simple checklist for skills: letter greeting, clear sentence construction, use of capital letters and full stops, inclusion of dreams/goals.
• Speaking assessment during pair and class sharing: clarity, listening, appropriate responses.

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Differentiation

• Support: Provide sentence starters (e.g., "Dear Future Me,", "I want to…", "I will try to…").
• Challenge: Encourage pupils to use more conjunctions or descriptive words; write more than two dreams/goals.

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Cross-Curricular Links

• PSHE: Reflecting on personal goals and aspirations supports emotional literacy and self-awareness.
• Art: Decorating the letter connects to creative expression.

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This lesson fosters personal reflection and creative writing in a way that supports National Curriculum expectations for composition and spoken language. The integration of planning, writing and sharing builds confidence and engagement in writing for a real purpose.