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Discuss with students the general format and purpose of personal letters. Develop a list of criteria that one would expect to find in a well-written personal letter. Explain to the students that they will be writing a personal letter to a famous young Canadian historical figure — Terry Fox.

Allow students at least 30 minutes to review the site’s material on Terry Fox. Ask them to interact with any clips they wish, and to make brief, point-form notes about events, ideas, or other pieces of information that seem important. Remind students that they will be using the information they have gathered to write a personal letter to Terry Fox.

After viewing, clarify any questions that students still have. Then provide them with the Download Sheet for this activity (Terry Fox Letter) and have them use it and their notes to write their letter to Terry Fox.

Have students bring their finished work back to the group for a Think-Pair-Share. Divide the group into pairs, or have students choose a partner. In each pair, students exchange letters and offer helpful comments and reactions to one another. Students can revise their work based on their partner’s comments.

Invite interested students to read their letters out loud. Encourage students to discuss why they chose to write what they did to Terry Fox. Post some or all of the letters in the classroom.

Consider sending the letters to:
The Terry Fox Foundation
789 Don Mills Rd., Suite 802
Toronto, ON
M3C 1T5
E-mail: national@terryfoxrun.org