A Postcard From Holiday
Write a holiday postcard to a friend: where you are, the weather, the food and what you're doing.
- Time
- 15 min
- Length
- 40-50 words
Writadia · A1 · Notes & messages
NameClassDate
The situation
You are on holiday. You send a postcard to your English friend, Mia.
Your task
Write a postcard to Mia. Tell her:
- where you are and who you're with
- what the weather is like
- what you are doing there (use the present continuous: I'm swimming)
- what you think of the place
Writing toolkit
Open these only when you need them. Try the first draft on your own.
Plan it in steps
- Start with Dear Mia or Hi Mia.
- Say where you are.
- Write about the weather and the food.
- Use I'm / We're + verb-ing for activities now.
- Finish with See you soon! and your name.
Useful phrases
Opening
Where and who
Weather
Activities
Opinion and closing
Tap a phrase to add it to your text. Gaps (…) are selected so you can type over them.
Vocabulary
- greetings
- hello (on cards)Greetings from Rome!
- stay
- live in a place for a short timeWe're staying in a hotel.
- beach
- the sand next to the seaThe beach is very clean.
- delicious
- very good to eatThe fish is delicious.
- wish you were here
- I'd like you to be here with meWish you were here!
Model answer (61 words)
Read it after you’ve written your own version. Notice the highlighted parts. The numbers explain why they work.
Hi Mia,
Greetings from Kaş!1 I'm here with my parents and my cousin. We're staying in a small hotel near the sea.
The weather is lovely. It's sunny and hot every day. We're swimming every morning and in the evening we're eating fish in the old town.2 It's delicious!
It's a beautiful place. Wish you were here!3
See you soon, Deniz
- A classic postcard opening.
- Present continuous for what is happening during the holiday.
- Opinion + a warm, typical postcard ending.
Teacher notes
Realia: Bring real postcards (or images). Students notice how short and positive postcard language is.
Contrast: present simple for routines (We go to the beach every summer) vs present continuous for now (We're staying in...).
Extra challenge
Write a second postcard from a terrible holiday. Everything goes wrong! Keep it funny.
Lesson plan
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 6 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: greetings, stay, beach, delicious, wish you were here.
- 7 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “Hi Mia,”, “Greetings from ...!”, “I'm in ... with my family.”.
- 15 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (40-50 words)
- 5 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 2 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
Assessment rubric
| Criterion | 4 · Excellent | 3 · Good | 2 · Developing | 1 · Beginning | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task | All the requested information is there. | One point is missing. | Several points are missing. | Little connection to the task. | |
| Organisation | Sentences in order; and, but, because used well. | Mostly in order. | Order is confusing. | Unconnected sentences. | |
| Vocabulary | Topic words used; most spelled correctly. | Simple but enough. | A lot of repetition and spelling errors. | Words do not carry the meaning. | |
| Grammar and mechanics | Capitals, full stops and basic tenses correct. | A few errors, meaning clear. | Frequent errors, meaning sometimes lost. | Hard to understand. | |
| Total | / 16 | ||||
Each criterion scores 1–4 (total 16). Use the task checklist below to tick what the student actually did.
Task checklist
- I said where I am and who I'm with.
- I wrote about the weather.
- I used the present continuous (I'm / we're + -ing).
Teacher comment
Peer-review sheet
Students swap texts and give each other feedback with this sheet.
Before you finish
Before you finish
- I said where I am and who I'm with.
- I wrote about the weather.
- I used the present continuous (I'm / we're + -ing).
Writadia · A1 · Notes & messages
Assessment rubric: A Postcard From Holiday
| Criterion | 4 · Excellent | 3 · Good | 2 · Developing | 1 · Beginning | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task | All the requested information is there. | One point is missing. | Several points are missing. | Little connection to the task. | |
| Organisation | Sentences in order; and, but, because used well. | Mostly in order. | Order is confusing. | Unconnected sentences. | |
| Vocabulary | Topic words used; most spelled correctly. | Simple but enough. | A lot of repetition and spelling errors. | Words do not carry the meaning. | |
| Grammar and mechanics | Capitals, full stops and basic tenses correct. | A few errors, meaning clear. | Frequent errors, meaning sometimes lost. | Hard to understand. | |
| Total | / 16 | ||||
Each criterion scores 1–4 (total 16). Use the task checklist below to tick what the student actually did.
Task checklist
- I said where I am and who I'm with.
- I wrote about the weather.
- I used the present continuous (I'm / we're + -ing).
Teacher comment
Writadia · A1 · Notes & messages
Peer-review sheet: A Postcard From Holiday
WriterReviewer
Read your partner’s text carefully. Be kind and specific: say why, not just “good”.
Task checklist
| Yes | Partly | No | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I said where I am and who I'm with. | |||
| I wrote about the weather. | |||
| I used the present continuous (I'm / we're + -ing). |
Questions
- Does the text give all the information asked for?
- Does every sentence start with a capital and end with a full stop?
- Did the writer use and, but or because? Copy one example.
Two stars and a wish
★ Something I liked
★ Another thing I liked
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Writadia · A1 · Notes & messages
Lesson plan: A Postcard From Holiday
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 6 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: greetings, stay, beach, delicious, wish you were here.
- 7 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “Hi Mia,”, “Greetings from ...!”, “I'm in ... with my family.”.
- 15 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (40-50 words)
- 5 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 2 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
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If you used it, tell us. It helps us see which tasks work.