 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
||||
 |
||||
 |
||||
|
Especially for Co-ordinators - Managing the English Program Communicating with Parents
Parents are the child's first educators. They know their children best and have important information to share with teachers. Students' performance at school is enhanced if their parents are interested and involved. As English co-ordinator, it is best to use a variety of methods to communicate with parents. Issues such as the needs of working parents, people in rural communities, and parents with a range of literacy levels need to be taken into account. Strategies for communicating with parents: Photo / Video displays - Literacy development: e.g., stages of writing - Language experiences: e.g. excursion with children's captions - Classroom environment: e.g. 'This is our class.', 'These are our class rules.' - Displays with TLOs annotations Assemblies/ Parent Evenings - Celebrate achievements in English - Focus on a strand in English e.g. Speaking and Listening - Literature evenings/performances of students work. Newsletters/Booklets - Communicate 'What is English?' - Explain practical activities for supporting students in English - Celebrate student's successes and publish their work. - Explain classroom programs- e.g. why viewing is an important part of the program. - Review books or include recommended lists. - Describe ways of supporting their child’s reading. - Discuss issues related to teenagers and reading. Provide an accurate, up-to-date curriculum statement in handbooks, e.g. Grade 7 handbook. Grades 8 & 9 course selection booklet. Parent meetings - formal and informal - Explain school and classroom programs. - Have a specific focus: e.g. choosing good books for your child. - Hold a forum: opportunities for parents to ask questions. - Invite guest speakers for Parents and Friends Parent Programs - Home school Literacy (Tas) - Keys to Life (Vic) - First Steps(W.A.) - Hand in Hand (Qld.) Reporting to Parents - Annotated work samples in Records of Development - Parent teacher interviews, including Parent input - Parent -initiated interviews. - Home visits - Telephone conversations: to alert parents to concerns. - Informal discussion related to issues, concerns, successes - Written reports Communication books/learning journals - Follow up to units of work. - Involving parents in literacy tasks. Open Days: - English Day: parents involved in activities with students. Home Reading programs: Organised class-by-class or on a school-wide basis For more information In their interviews for this site, Mandy Paske, Christine Topfer, Judy Wiggins and Kate Northam discuss successful strategies they have used for communicating with parents. See Celebrating Students’ Work for a way of sharing students’ achievements in English with parents.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
