What should a beginning of the year letter home look like for grade 8 students?

-I am a new teacher that will be teaching grade 8 in September, and I was wondering what kind of information I should put into a parent letter that I will be sending home at the beginning of the school year.Well, I just finished my 8th grade year, and if you're talking about, just an informational letter to tell the parents what their kids are going to be doing that year, then do just that. Write saying the different things that you're planning on covering that year and how you hope to help bond with the kids and help them bond with each other. How you're planning on helping them understand different, new things and dig their hands into new things that they haven't tried yet. Make sure you include that you'll try to make everything fun with interactive activities and informational movies and stuff that will keep the kids from doddling and keep them interested.

Just another tip, make sure you write well, because if you write to these kids parents and it's bad grammar or something, then they probably won't be happy.



By the way, it also really depends on what you are teaching....
You are not the only teacher at your school. Contact the other teachers and ask for a copy of their class syllabus, modify that to suit your needs and voila! Talking and planning with other teachers will save your sanity, I guarantee it. If you feel like your cheating, remember it's for the benefit of the kids, so the better your materials the better for the students.



Didn't you cover this stuff in a teacher credential program?