Weekly Parent Letter

As the school year starts, it is important to have good communication with parents. I accomplish this by sending home a weekly newsletter that gets sent home on Monday (one hard copy and one sent through e-mail). Each weekly newsletter includes spelling words, vocabulary words, upcoming events, subject focus for the week and what their child will be learning that week in school. I also read through this with my students at the end of the day Monday before dismissal so that they can always know what to expect for that week in school. Upper elementary students really enjoy knowing what to expect in school that week and they also use this newsletter to help with studying their weekly words. I have created an editable parent newsletter in my TpT Store: Mrs. Kearsely's Classroom. 

Back to School Writing Lesson

It time for Back to School!! One of the first week activities that I do with my students is to learn about their summer through a writing lesson. I start the year with doing a paragraph writing lesson to ease them into the school year with something simple and it allows me to review the basics of good writing structure with "paragraph writing." I use a paragraph song that I learned a few years ago. It is to the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" melody. Here's the Paragraph Song:

First you introduce the topic in a general way

Next you add three details of what you want to say

Then you add the clincher, put that sentence last

Now you have created your great paragraph. 

(Source Unknown) 

We brainstorm all the activities they did in the summer and adjectives to use in their writing. I believe in teaching writing in a real structured way. I always have a brainstorm time, outline, and a guided writing of paragraph structure. I have the complete lesson including brainstorming and outlining worksheet in my TpT Store. This also turns into a cute bulletin board when done. 

 "T-Shirt" theme "Have a T-rrific Summer" 

*This could be used as a beginning of school writing or end of the year writing.

To get this lesson, click HERE. 

Happy Back to School!