You will receive this letter home from your students.
September 5, 2017
Dear Parents/Guardians—
I am writing to tell you about some exciting opportunities we have for our Social Studies 5 class this year.
As you might know, one teaching method we employ is that of Project Based Learning, or PBL, to help students learn better. A project motivates students to gain knowledge, and they remember it longer. Projects give students the chance to apply the skills they learn in school to personally relevant and real-world situations. Your child also learns skills in PBL such as how to think critically, solve problems, work in teams, and make presentations. These skills will help students succeed in the future, both in school and in today’s work world. We will be working on several of these projects in Social Studies this year. As the Grade 12 Social teacher, I am confident these skills will benefit your child in the long run: this is no fad.
I have the good fortune of partnering with Ms. Fullerton-Lee, an elementary teacher at Magrath Elementary School, and her class on these projects. Throughout the year, our classes will have opportunities to connect with each other to share their projects, learnings, and different stories. This means your child will be creating a lot of digital content — sometimes audio, video, or even just slide presentations in the Google Suite for Education.
Students will be assessed individually on their content knowledge, their collaboration skills, and their presentation skills by their respective teachers. As parents or guardians, you can discuss the project at home, encouraging your child to think hard and ask questions about the topic. You can also support the project by, well, circle what you think applies: [helping in the classroom, taking students on field work, providing expertise and resources, etc.]!
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about your child’s learning, this engaging cross-class opportunity, or the work we’re doing every day.
Sincerely,
[SIGNED]
