Parent Communication and Student Responsibility

Lorraine at Fabulous Fourth Grade Froggies is having a linky party on Parent Communication. 

I think this is a wonderful idea.  I know a lot of teachers do newsletters.  I think whenever possible giving the parents the newsletter directly is probably the most effective method of making sure they receive the communication.  Why is that?  Students are irresponsible or forgetful or sneaky.  Depending on the motives or lack of thought. 

Images of lost papers in lockers, hallways, backpacks, cars, recess areas, bathrooms...dancing in my head.

I worked at a school where many of the parents didn't have email.  The school sent home a school newsletter on Wednesdays.  Most of the parents expected the Wednesday newsletter so including anything else you wanted to go home on Wednesday worked pretty well.

I started thinking tonight about the issue of helping the irresponsible and forgetful students do better at managing their time and reminders.  I started thinking why not have a message posted on the board or somewhere in the room and have them copy it down.  Newsletters are great, but whenever possible students need autonomy and often respond well to it.  The most successful round of literature circles I ever had was when I handed the students a calendar and said "You have three weeks to read the book.  You decide as a group how much you will read each day."  They used the calendars to track their progress and most of the groups finished in 1 or 2 weeks and had lots of time to start projects. Some groups started a second book. 

Anyway, I digress.  I decided to create a planner type weekly reminder sheet where students could write down homework, reminders, and messages from the teacher.  Maybe if they are invested in the process, they will help in the parent communication process instead of hindering it. 

Enjoy this weekly reminder handout.  Have a great week!