Sample Letter To Parents From Teacher Template (Page 2 of 7) in pdf

Sample Letter To Parents From Teacher Template Page 2

Suzy Kaback also uses a letter to invite students into

the classroom before school starts. (See sample on

pages 14 and 15.) Her goal is to help them begin to feel

comfortable about the space before they enter it, and

to develop a sense of ownership. In her letter, Suzy

invites students to join her at the end of August when

s h e ’s setting up the classroom for the year. Plenty of

students take her up on the invitation. They help

organize books on the shelves; tape classmates’ names

on cubbies, desks, and coat hooks; set up the listening

area; arrange art supplies; and tidy up the garden tools

to use in the window garden. All of this saves Suzy

time, of course, but in the process the students also get

to know the terrain.

When students walk in the door on the first day

of school, there is an air of confidence about them—

a feeling that this is their room. They know where to

hang their backpacks. Many of them already have

school supplies loaded in their desks. And students who

were not able to help set up the classroom benefit from

the relaxed attitude of their peers. They sense the

message that “this is our place” and can ease into the

beginning of the year, just like students who did

volunteer.

Like Suzy and Janet, Jill Ostrow designates a time,

usually a morning, during the week before school

when her multi-age fourth to sixth graders come and

get to know the classroom. Because her early teaching

experience was in Britain, she uses the British model

of having students take far more responsibility for

setting up the classroom.

When students visit in late August, the classroom

walls are bare, and the desks and tables are heaped in

the middle of the room. Jill has students talk about

room design, help organize the furniture, and sort

through books to come up with a shelving system for

the classroom library.

page 2

from “The Back to School Book” by Suzanne Kaback, Constance Perry, and Brenda Power

Sample Letter To Parents From Teacher Template Page 2