This is a file that accompanies a lesson plan on using word processors to format business letters. The file is distributed to students with improper formatting; they change the formatting to put the letter in the correct form.

Ms. Kleeper's 6th Grade Class
Room 361
King School

October 30, 2003

Principal Martinez
Room 101
King School

Dear Principal Martinez:

First, we would like to thank you for hiring a dedicated teacher. Ms. Kleeper is very thorough and always makes an effort to keep us interested in class. However, Ms. Kleeper has been making too much of an effort recently.

We're studying Catherine, Called Birdy, a book set in the Middle Ages. Ms. Kleeper says she wants us to experience the Middle Ages. We thought it was funny when she started calling the bathroom the "privy." But that was just the beginning.

On Monday, she brought in eight pounds of salted white herring for us to eat. Dave Park threw his out the window and we heard cats fighting over it for the rest of class.

On Tuesday, she came in with a bird on her shoulder. She said it was a popinjay. It looked more like a pigeon. You can imagine the mess it made.

On Wednesday, she brought in a jar full of fleas. It was then that we noticed she had stopped washing her hair. Now we all wear hats to class, except Dave Park, who shaved his head.

Today, Ms. Kleeper brought in a goose. You might have heard it honking. The following school property was destroyed during class:

• three computer monitors
• one ceiling light
• one globe
• the glass in the classroom door

The last time we saw it, the goose was running across the baseball field. Dave Park's math homework was stuck to its right foot, which is why he can't turn it in.

Tomorrow we're supposed to play "Squeak, Piggy, Squeak." We definitely don't want to play a game called "Squeak, Piggy, Squeak." But, most important, tomorrow is Halloween. We read in Catherine, Called Birdy that people made bonfires on Halloween to drive off witches and goblins. So we're a little concerned about the big pile of dry branches Ms. Kleeper has built in a corner of the classroom.

Could you please talk to Ms. Kleeper right away? We appreciate her efforts to keep us interested in class, but we're worried. Very worried.

Sincerely,

The students of Ms. Kleeper's class