I wanted to share information with you about the "Letter to the Teacher" homework assignment.
By now you have probably seen the "letter to the teacher" listed on the homework page and/or spoken to your student about this assignment. This is part of our work in literacy for our Reader's Workshop. Letters to the teacher are to be turned in each week by Friday. The earliest a student may turn the letter in is Wednesday of any week, but they must be turned in by Friday. They are to be written neatly in their "Letters" notebook and the entire notebook is turned in each week. The letter to the teacher is assigned for a variety of purposes.
Every week students are asked to write a letter to me that is a minimum of one page about what they are reading independently. We are doing this in the second half of the year in lieu of a reading log. I have modeled to the students what a letter should look like and what it should contain. This letter not only serves in place of the reading log, but also gives students the opportunity to extend and deepen their comprehension about what they are reading. It also gives me an opportunity to assess not only reading skills but writing skills as well. I have stressed to the students that I should be able to tell that they have been reading nightly and that they are reading a "just right" book by the quality of their letter.
The letter should be a minimum of 2 to 3 paragraphs and should follow the format of a friendly letter.
Paragraph 1- Students should tell the title and author of the book they are currently reading. They should share details/ short summary of the reading for that week. They might include why they chose the book in this paragraph.
Paragraph 2- Students tells about any connections they made to the story and what they like or didn't like about the story.
Paragraph 3- Students share any questions they have about the characters or events in the story and they also share their predictions about the story. If it is a week that they finished they book they should include why they liked or disliked the book.
I have included pictures of two example letters to this post to give you all an idea what they letter should look and sound like. These letters were ones written by current 4-3 students.
I hope this helps you all understand this assignment. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me.
By now you have probably seen the "letter to the teacher" listed on the homework page and/or spoken to your student about this assignment. This is part of our work in literacy for our Reader's Workshop. Letters to the teacher are to be turned in each week by Friday. The earliest a student may turn the letter in is Wednesday of any week, but they must be turned in by Friday. They are to be written neatly in their "Letters" notebook and the entire notebook is turned in each week. The letter to the teacher is assigned for a variety of purposes.
Every week students are asked to write a letter to me that is a minimum of one page about what they are reading independently. We are doing this in the second half of the year in lieu of a reading log. I have modeled to the students what a letter should look like and what it should contain. This letter not only serves in place of the reading log, but also gives students the opportunity to extend and deepen their comprehension about what they are reading. It also gives me an opportunity to assess not only reading skills but writing skills as well. I have stressed to the students that I should be able to tell that they have been reading nightly and that they are reading a "just right" book by the quality of their letter.
The letter should be a minimum of 2 to 3 paragraphs and should follow the format of a friendly letter.
Paragraph 1- Students should tell the title and author of the book they are currently reading. They should share details/ short summary of the reading for that week. They might include why they chose the book in this paragraph.
Paragraph 2- Students tells about any connections they made to the story and what they like or didn't like about the story.
Paragraph 3- Students share any questions they have about the characters or events in the story and they also share their predictions about the story. If it is a week that they finished they book they should include why they liked or disliked the book.
I have included pictures of two example letters to this post to give you all an idea what they letter should look and sound like. These letters were ones written by current 4-3 students.
I hope this helps you all understand this assignment. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me.