Sunshine Books
Engaging Parents in Student Learning (Virtual Tour)
Stage of Literacy Development:
Stage 2: Consolidation / FluencyStage 3: Literacy for Growth
Ages:
6-10
Grade Range:
2nd 3rd 4thFood Groups:
Primary: Text Structures & Genres
Transcript
One of the writing activities that we establish right from the first week of school is the Sunshine Book. And this is an informal dialogue between the children and their parents. It provides a wonderful opportunity for the parents to learn what's gone on at school that week, and what's been important to their son or daughter. It allows us to develop the framework of a friendly letter, and for second graders it allows development of the big idea, the who, what, when, where, why, and how, and how to write paragraphs. And then, the expectation is that the parents reply back to the students, so the students anxiously await what their parents will write, and they love to share it with their friends. We've established some expectations around what this should look like, how do I know I've written a successful Sunshine Book. So, about once a month, what the students do is some self-assessment. So they take the success criteria that we've laid out, what the expectations are, they self-assess, and at the bottom I provide them with some descriptive feedback, what they've done well, and what they might want to think about next time to improve their Sunshine Books. It's something the parents have really, really enjoyed too, I get a lot of positive feedback from moms and dads about this activity.
Activity Objective
The goal of Sunshine Books: Engaging Parents in Student Learning (Virtual Tour) is to provide students with an opportunity to write for an authentic purpose.
Quick Tips
Additional Comments:
- Establish the use of the Sunshine Book early on in the school year.
- Keep parents informed about ongoing classroom learning.
- When students use the Sunshine Book they are accountable for their learning.
Other Recipes by this Teacher
Read to Someone: A Component Of The Daily Five
K - 6th
Running Records: Assessing and Improving Students' Reading Fluency and Comprehension
K - 3rd
Estimation Station: Developing Critical Thinking Skills (Virtual Tour)
1st - 3rd
The Daily Five: Fostering Literacy Independence in Second Grade (Virtual Tour)
2nd
CAFÉ: Engaging Second Grade Students in Assessment and Instruction (Virtual Tour)
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