Letters About Literature Resources
Teaching Resources
Letters About Literature in Massachusetts is a commonwealth-wide personal and reflective writing initiative sponsored by the Massachusetts Center for the Book. The program invites students in Grades 4 through 12 to read a book of their choice, reflect on it, and write a personal letter to its author, explaining the impact this work had on them.
This page provides ready to use lesson plans, printable worksheets, and resources for teachers to download and use in their classrooms. Click on the links below to jump to each section.
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We asked Letters About Literature (LAL) teachers who have been running the program for years what they love about LAL. Watch the video above to hear their response.
Introduction and Curriculum Standards
THE PROCESS
Students select a work of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or drama (full-length books, short stories, poems, essays, speeches, and plays are eligible, no song lyrics) that has had an impact on their thinking. Students write a personal letter to the author (a contemporary or classic writer) of the selected work, explaining how reading the book has affected them. They may have a personal connection to the themes of the book or they may have found a welcome insight into (or diversion from) the issues of the day.
No matter the approach, students are reminded that the purpose of their letter is not to flatter the author or gush about the author’s talent. Nor is it to summarize the work and analyze its style. Rather, a student's letter should communicate a personal reaction to/connection with the work, to create a conversation with an author about the personal impact of reading it. Entries should fall in the 200- to 750-word range. (These are
Note to teachers/librarians: Please have students writing from your institution use the street address of your school/library as their return address. We shall seek home addresses from the parents/guardians of any writers who progress in the program.
suggested minimums and maximums for successful letters.) They may follow the friendly or business-letter format.
Eligibility and Submissions
Letters About Literature in Massachusetts is open to residents of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. (Students who attend school in Massachusetts are considered residents for this program.)
Students must be in Grades 4 through 12 (or their homeschool equivalents) during the 2025-26 school year.
Entries will be accepted electronically (see entry form for instructions) beginning October 1, 2025. Submissions close on January 15, 2026.
Submissions will be read and evaluated in three (3) levels: Level 1 for Grades 4-6, Level 2 for Grades 7 & 8, Level 3 for Grades 9-12
The judges will award 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place and name up to seven additional Honorable Mention writers in each level.
1st Place: $200
2nd Place: $150
3rd Place: $100
Students achieving Finalist status will receive certificates by mid‐May – just in time for end of school recognition ceremonies. Winners and Honorable Mention students will be recognized at an Awards Ceremony at the Massachusetts State House.
MASS CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK
The Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy considers letter writing to be a key writing standard for students. Significantly, DESE’s Writing Standards in Action features several “Letter to an Author” lessons across grade level, including a sample drawn from our Letters About Literature in Massachusetts program. We have compiled the specific standard codes for each grade level, which can be downloaded using the button on the right.
NCTE & IRA STANDARDS
Thousands of teachers have found LAL a valuable classroom project. Each year, LAL receives feedback from teachers testifying how the program’s theme and guidelines dovetail with state standards for language arts. Listed below are the standards recommended by the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association that apply to the LAL program and recommended teaching activities included on this teacher resource page.
Students will:
Apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts.
Adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language for a variety of audiences and purposes.
Employ a wide range of writing strategies.
Apply knowledge of language structure and conventions.
Participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
Use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their purpose.
Level 1 - Grades 4-6
How to run Letters About Literature (LAL) in your classroom
Interested in running LAL as a Level 1 teacher but unsure where to start? Watch the video interview with Level 1 teacher Meghan Sullivan, who shares her experience and offers tips and tricks for teachers who wish to incorporate the program into their curriculum. Then view the easily downloadable lesson plans below.
LAL Introduction
We have created a slide deck for you to use in order to introduce the assignment to your students.
Lessons 1-4
Each lesson is available to download as a pdf and includes worksheets for students. There is an introduction and teacher resources section at the beginning of each lesson.
Example letters
Letters from recent years of LAL (2021-2024) that demonstrate some of the qualities that judges look for in a winning letter have been compiled in the document linked to the right.
For more example letters from National LAL winners, please visit the Library of Congress Website.
Level 2 - Grades 7-8
How to run Letters About Literature (LAL) in your classroom
Interested in running LAL as a Level 2 teacher but unsure where to start? Watch the video interview with Level 2 teacher Caroline Todd, who shares her experience and offers tips and tricks for teachers who wish to incorporate the program into their curriculum. Then view the easily downloadable lesson plans below.
Lessons 1-4
Each lesson is available to download as a pdf and includes worksheets for students. There is an introduction and teacher resources section at the beginning of each lesson.
Example letters
Letters from recent years of LAL (2022-2024) that demonstrate some of the qualities that judges look for in a winning letter have been compiled in the document linked to the right.
For more example letters from National LAL winners, please visit the Library of Congress Website.
LAL Introduction
We have created a slide deck for you to use in order to introduce the assignment to your students.
Level 3 - Grades 9-12
How to run Letters About Literature (LAL) in your classroom
Interested in running LAL as a Level 3 teacher but unsure where to start? Watch the video interview with Level 3 teacher Elizabeth Colahan, who shares her experience and offers tips and tricks for teachers who wish to incorporate the program into their curriculum. Then view the easily downloadable lesson plans below.
Lessons 1-4
Each lesson is available to download as a pdf and includes worksheets for students. There is an introduction and teacher resources section at the beginning of each lesson.
LAL Introduction
We have created a slide deck for you to use in order to introduce the assignment to your students.
Example letters
Letters from recent years of LAL (2022-2024) that demonstrate some of the qualities that judges look for in a winning letter have been compiled in the document linked to the right.
For more example letters from National LAL winners, please visit the Library of Congress Website.
Additional Resources
We have gathered some additional lesson resources to use as support for your students if you find they are having trouble with certain aspects of their letter. These are all from the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Project Zero Thinking Routines Tool Box.
We’ve written an entirely made up sample letter with comments to show some strong points and common pitfalls that we find in letters submitted to the competition. To demonstrate to students the process of revision, we’ve included a “first draft” of the letter as well as the final letter. Note: this is not a template letter. The most important aspect of the contest is student originality and creativity!
Book Recommendations
There are tons of books that can inspire someone to write a letter for LAL. But if you or your students need some ideas we have compiled a list of books (Levels 1, 2 & 3). We have given suggested age levels and some overarching themes for the books. To download your own copy of this list that you can edit and sort click here, or click on the upper right corner of the PDFs below to download the printable version. For even more suggestions, check out the ALA Notable books lists here.
