Scary Excuse Letter

This is a fun way to review or introduce the basics of friendly letter writing.

Here are the instructions for the assignment:
Pretend you are a monster, a witch, a ghost, or another Halloween character. Write a friendly letter to a teacher, explaining why you did not do your homework. You should include clues / details that show that you are the Halloween character you chose.

The letter below is from a student who is a witch. Which words and phrases help you see that she is a witch?

Your real full name
Name of the school
The school address
October 31, 2006

Dear Ms. Mortal,

I am writing to explain why I do not have my homework today.

I had a very busy night. First I had to fly my broom to softball practice. Someone used my broom as a bat, and I lost a lot of bristles, so I had to walk all the way to the broom repair shop. (I haven't learned any teleporting spells yet.) It took an hour to fix the broom. Then I flew home to start on my homework.

It took me two whole hours to complete the worksheet you gave me, but I got it all done. Then my mother asked me to help her with the holiday brew. I was stirring the brew while I looked over my homework. Suddenly, our black cat jumped on my back. I dropped the spoon. My homework flew into the air. I tried to catch it, and I slipped and landed in the cauldron with the homework. The worksheet was ruined, and so were my new, black pumps.

I hope you will understand why I do not have my homework. I also hope you will give me another day to complete it. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Hazel Witch (This can be a made-up name.)