Idea #107: Send a letter home!
5May 22, 2012 by Megan
The very last thing I do on the final day of class is give each student a letter to take home to their parents. I know how much they have learned, the student knows how much he has learned, but many times the parents have no idea (besides the grade on the report card).
This is an example of something I send…
I think most parents would be shocked to know their kid can DO so many things in another language. Secretly, I’m hoping some parents will say…. “Can you really do this? Prove it!” and give their son or daughter a chance to shine!
Here’s the rest of the letter…
I am going to copy a simple version of the rubric I use in class so parents can get an idea of what “NOVICE HIGH” or “INTERMEDIATE LOW” really means and then circle where the student’s progress. Normally, this letter makes it home because it doesn’t have a GRADE on it. They are much more likely to share something with their parents when it’s positive! To increase the odds of this letter getting home I also take time during the last week of school to write one compliment about each student. I don’t always write something, but I really try. It may be as simple as “I love that Kourtney always had a smile on her face!” or “I really appreciated Tim’s willingness to participate in class!” or “Keshaun made class more fun for everyone this year!” — I think this really helps!
I don’t put them in an envelope or seal them up. I just give them a copy with their names on it and ask them to deliver it to their parents.
Worst case scenario = it gets left in my room (which happens sometimes)
Best case scenario = Parents get a peek of what happened in class and have another reason to be proud of their kid (and maybe they send a nice email back to me!)
Sending a letter is an easy way to make your students proud of their accomplishments in your class and open up the lines of communication with parents for next year. Try it! It might just make someone’s day!
Megan
rachel573
Kara
What a super idea! And you can save time if you do a mail/merge, too, for the letter in Microsoft Word.
Wow, love this idea! So thoughtful and a great way to show off everything you have taught your students!
Love it! I’m going to take the Novice High (or wherever they are) descriptor from the JCPS Student Profile. I’ll have a different letter for each proficiency level. I still want to change it to be “my voice” in the letter.
Love this…I’m changing my “welcome to foreign language class” letter this year to focus on what they will be able to do rather than behavior!
That would create a positive focus to start the year. Then a teacher can reference how behavior is affecting their progress if they call/write home. Great idea Andrea!