Robert Young

It’s a new school year and another chapter of your teaching journey has begun. You have your students writing from the very first day of school (good job!) and, being aware of the importance of communicating with parents, you want to send that writing home.

Don’t do it! DO NOT SEND THAT WRITING HOME!! At least, not yet. You need to do something first. You need to send a letter to the parents. In that letter you can explain your writing program if you want. But what you really MUST do is tell them what to do to support their child as a writer. Here’s a couple suggestions:

Have your child read the writing to you. (This way, parents won’t be distracted by the penmanship or conventions of the writing, which often leads to comments of a critical nature. These comments are usually non-productive).

Comment on the message of the writing. (The reason we write is to communicate, so this should be the primary focus of the feedback. It is appropriate to ask questions about the content of the writing).

Look at the writing and find three things your child did correctly. (This depends on the grade level, but you can encourage parents to make suggestions such as, “Focus on capital letters at the start of sentences” or “Be on the lookout for similes and metaphors.”)

Let parents know that learning to write is a ongoing process, that it takes a great deal of practice, and that students will be spending a lot of time and energy in class editing and revising their work. You could even remind them the difference between a draft and a final copy, and that they will be seeing both come home (some teachers choose to stamp “draft” on unfinished pieces). If you want parents to edit their child’s work, provide them with an overview (i.e. Editing is not about finding fault; it’s about helping) and specific guidelines.

Encourage parents to become part of your “writing community” in which people talk about writing, share their own writing, and support each other as they communicate with written words. Everyone will benefit.