Dear Mr.
and Mrs. Smith,
For the past four months I have had
the joy of getting to know Conor. He is very pleasant to work with and gets
along well with his peers. He is very motivated in mathematics and enjoys playing
academic games on the computer. In addition, I have been able to see and assess
Conor’s literacy progress. Conor is an emerging reading and I am excited to see
him continue to excel. To aide in his growth there are a few areas of literacy
in which both you and I can work with. I have noticed that when Conor reads a
book out loud he is unable to answer some of the comprehension questions post
reading. This is not uncommon for students and there are ways in which we can
help him.
First I am planning on working with
him with small groups during our literacy centers. During literacy centers
children are either working with me or working with literature games and
activities in small groups. When Conor is with me I plan on teaching him
comprehension strategies such as communicating background knowledge, retelling,
and think-outlouds. When working with me he will be with children at the same
level. However, when he is in other centers I plan on having him engage in the
various activities with students who will challenge him just a bit! Lastly, I
want you to know that I will be starting an after school program for students
who want extra time working on comprehension and other reading strategies. If
this is something you would be interested in let me know!
I am confident that Conor will grow from
these various instructional strategies. I encourage you to read Conor’s library
books at home and talk about them afterwards. Since he is extremely motivated
by the computer I have included a few websites you can introduce to him when he
is playing at home! If you have any questions feel free to contact me by e-mail
at msyassick@elementary.edu or by
my school phone at (555-5555). I am also available before or after school.
All
the best,
Ms. Yassick
Ms. Yassick
Websites
Ms. Yassick,
ReplyDeleteConor is very lucky to have such a great teacher. He has really been enjoying the dinosaur unit in science. Every night at the dinner table that is all that he talks about! We really appreciate you taking the time to update us on Conors progress. My husband and I have noticed that Conor’s reading is below what his older brother’s was when he was Conors age. How is he doing compared to the rest of his classmates? We have mostly been working with him on reading and spelling, but not as much on comprehension. We will try to focus more on comprehension strategies when we read with him at home. Sometimes Conor forgets to bring his library books home with him. Could you make sure to remind him to put his book in his backpack right when he gets back from the library? Thank you for the suggestions and websites, we will definitely have to check them out. I think that participating in the after school reading program will be very beneficial for Conor. Please keep us updated on how we can get involved! We look forward to meeting with you next week at conferences.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Smith
Ms. Yassick,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for communicating with me about Conor! I am so anxious to hear about what he is working on in school and how he is developing, but I don't want to pester you or him on it! It makes me feel part of his learning an development to hear how he is progressing.
I am encouraged to see all of the strengths that you pointed out in Conor. I can see those in him as well, especially all the computer games! He remembers what you do in class, and works on those same websites at home! Even though I wish he spent more time outside, it's good to see that he is working on something productive inside. Thank you so much for pointing out the area that Conor needs to work on the most, and the specific strategies that you will be implementing in the classroom to help him. I know how difficult it must be to address specific issues of all of your students, and I appreciate you going above and beyond for my son!
I will make sure to read Conor's library books with him, as well as give him the websites you suggested and work on them with him. I do have a full time job, but I want to spend more quality time with my son, and this would be the perfect thing to do! I am wondering if there is any specific suggestions you have for me to help reinforce the strategies that you are teaching in class? Is there anyway I can help him with "background knowledge, retelling, or think outlouds?" Also, in what way are you tracking Conor's progress so that we can see how he improves in comprehension as the year goes on?
Thank you so much for your communication with me, I greatly appreciate being involved in my son's education!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Smith
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMs. Yassick,
ReplyDeleteThank you for keeping me updated on Conor’s progress in the classroom! It’s nice to know that he has a teacher who cares so much for her students and their success in school. The steps you are planning on taking to aid and build his comprehension during centers sounds like it will be very beneficial for my son and I am excited to see how his reading strategies continue to develop. We will of course work with him at home and take the suggestions you provided – I am sure these will be very helpful, and hopefully in turn will help him with what is going on in the classroom as well. Also, the website links are a wonderful idea! You are right – he does enjoy computer games, and I am about to set him up with one right now!
Again, I really appreciate the time you have taken not only to help further Conor’s success in school, but also the time taken to keep me informed. Please let me know if there is anything else we can do at home to help Conor grow in his comprehension or other areas of his education. Thanks again!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Smith