Student Contributor: B. Pederson
With these letters or phone calls home it allows an insight for the parents to see how their children are doing in the class. As well that a phone call or letter home isn’t always a negative thing for the students and it also allows the parents feel like they are also knowing what is going on in the classroom.
This tool can be used in multiple ways for you and depending on how indepth you want to go with the letter or the phone call it allows the parents to see how great their student is doing in the classroom and so when the students get home they can get praise from their parents. This will allow and reinforce the students to continue good behavior that they are having in the classroom. It will also allow you to continue building relationships with not just the students themselves but also their families because it will be quite surprising to receive a phone call or a letter, and it being something positive about the student and not negative. With this it could be something that ends up being a fun project from the students themselves as well that they are the ones writing the letters home and that they are getting to tell their parents about how is class going and how well they are doing in it.
This would be supportive phase because it is somehting that you can do with your students and it’s something that would be reminders of the expectations of the classroom because it is something that they are hitting consistly and something easy you are able to do to be able to all year randomly and something that would be fun to do.Then I’m saying it’s collaborative because you are able to do with the students and you and the students can work together on these letters or phone calls to their parents.
More Information –
Tool Source: https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/classroom-management-strategies/
https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/classroom-management-strategies/
I really loved the idea of this support strategy. The papers I made for our first-grade class of fifteen in a suburban area were slightly different, but essentially the same. The cards I made pointed out sharing with another student, being extra focused, helping a friend, being a friend, great listening skills, and a few blank lines in case there were any miscellaneous activities a student was doing or comments that were notable. Parents have been loving to hear about the great things their student has done during their day at school. I don’t put a limit on how many I send out a day either. If I notice something that is on the card, I make a point to fill one out at the soonest possible time. The implementation of this support tool has been very beneficial in our classroom.
I used this tool in a kindergarten class with 19 students in a suburban area. This tool was easy to implement. I tried to write at least two a day and would send the note home with the student in their backpack. I did not announce this is what I was doing. After a few weeks of this I had sent out at least one note to every student. While doing this I found that I was looking for behavior to praise more often. So I was verbally praising students more as well. Since this was something that students did not know I was doing there was not anything for them to learn. I believe that this tool was a great way for students to feel more appreciative in class. I even got a note back from one of the students parents that reading the positive letter made her cry happy tears. I believe that because this tool is so easy and beyond beneficial everyone should do it. The only thing I would have changed is that I wish I would have done this earlier and more often.