Formal or Friendly Letter is a free printable Grade 5 English worksheet on writing one purpose as a formal letter and as a friendly one, aligned to Common Core standard W.5.4. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions, 19 of them with different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
19 of these 25 sets ask different questions — this skill does not have 25 questions to give. The rest reorder them, so no two students have the same paper in front of them.
Formal or Friendly Letter
W.5.4
NameDate
Write on the lines. Use the checklist.
1.Write a formal letter to a company whose bike lock broke after a week, asking for a refund. Then write a friendly message telling a friend what happened.
I put the date, greeting and closing in place
I matched my words to the reader
I said why I was writing
2.Your class wants a crossing guard outside school. Write a formal letter to the town council asking for one, then a friendly note to your cousin telling her about the campaign.
I put the date, greeting and closing in place
I matched my words to the reader
I said why I was writing
LessonPrint · W.5.4 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Formal or Friendly Letter
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.A polite formal complaint asking the company for a refund, and an informal account of the broken lock for a friend.
2.A formal council letter requesting a crossing guard and a friendly cousin note about the campaign, each in its own register.
Questions about Formal or Friendly Letter
What does the Formal or Friendly Letter worksheet cover?
It practices writing one purpose as a formal letter and as a friendly one — 2 questions for Grade 5, all on Common Core W.5.4: Shape a piece so its organization fits its task, purpose and reader. The instruction to students is “Write on the lines. Use the checklist”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which Common Core standard does Formal or Friendly Letter practice?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.4 — W.5.4, under Writing for Grade 5. The published standard reads: “Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Formal or Friendly Letter is written for Grade 5, typically ages 10-11. It is one of the sheets on W.5.4, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Formal or Friendly Letter come with an answer key?
Yes. All 2 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of Formal or Friendly Letter can I print?
25 versions, of which 19 ask genuinely different questions — this skill does not have 25 distinct questions to give, so the rest reorder them and no two students still share a paper. Set 1 downloads all 25 as one PDF.
Is Formal or Friendly Letter free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Formal or Friendly Letter, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
More practice for W.5.4
Shape a piece so its organization fits its task, purpose and reader.