A Letter to Parents Re: Literacy
Dear Parents of (this year’s class),
It is my sincere pleasure to welcome all of you back for yet another new school year. I am very excited that my class this year will consist of your sons and daughters. Every year presents unique challenges and provides equally unique rewards and with your help, I know we can make it a successful year.
One of the points of emphasis this year for teachers is that Language Arts and literacy in general, are essential for 21st century learners. Some of you may be thinking this seems outdated. After all we are in the age of spell-checking computers, autocorrecting smart phones as well as other frightening technology. I admit that at first I was also skeptical. It wasn’t until I reflected on how much I rely on my own literacy that I really took up the cause.
There are misconceptions that Language Arts and literacy is strictly a reading and writing discipline. Misconceptions I grant you, that some educators have done little to dispel. I would like to take it upon myself to assist in the correction of this error.
Did you know that the Language Arts discipline is made up of six different strands? Reading and writing are two of those. Can you name the other four? If you are struggling as I was then here are they are: speaking, visually representing, viewing and listening are the other four.
I encourage you to read over those one more time and think how often those of us in the “real” world use those skills on a daily basis. My father worked in the automotive retail industry for fifty years, and I know for a fact that he used every one of those strands more than twice a day. As teachers we use them an infinite amount of time, for often we serve as performers for our students. Even in a world as advanced as ours these six literacy strands occur every day, often in routine situations such as at dinner tables.
As the educator of your sons and daughters it will be my goal to continue to develop and enhance all six of these language strands on a daily basis. My goal will be to accomplish in as many different ways as possible to ensure our classroom accounts for all learning styles. One project we have planned is a novel study in Social Studies of the book Blood and Iron by Paul Yee. The book follows a young Chinese boy and his journey to help in the building of the CP Railway in the late 19th century (1800’s).
This novel will allow us opportunities to hone our reading and writing skills through reflecting on the goings on in the novel. I anticipate, however, that much of the material will spark questions about Canada’s past and its identity. I have planned for many opportunities for students to share their thoughts and feelings on these topics as they arise with discussion groups and poster projects. The goal of which will be to develop our listening, speaking, viewing and visually representing literacy skills.
I truly am excited that the school year has finally begun and we may begin to teach and learn from one another. If any of you ever have any questions or concerns about things we are doing in class please do not hesitate to contact me via email. With your assistance and cooperation I know this year will be a success and our children will thrive in literal terms they never thought possible.
Truly yours,
Kyle Cantelon
It is my sincere pleasure to welcome all of you back for yet another new school year. I am very excited that my class this year will consist of your sons and daughters. Every year presents unique challenges and provides equally unique rewards and with your help, I know we can make it a successful year.
One of the points of emphasis this year for teachers is that Language Arts and literacy in general, are essential for 21st century learners. Some of you may be thinking this seems outdated. After all we are in the age of spell-checking computers, autocorrecting smart phones as well as other frightening technology. I admit that at first I was also skeptical. It wasn’t until I reflected on how much I rely on my own literacy that I really took up the cause.
There are misconceptions that Language Arts and literacy is strictly a reading and writing discipline. Misconceptions I grant you, that some educators have done little to dispel. I would like to take it upon myself to assist in the correction of this error.
Did you know that the Language Arts discipline is made up of six different strands? Reading and writing are two of those. Can you name the other four? If you are struggling as I was then here are they are: speaking, visually representing, viewing and listening are the other four.
I encourage you to read over those one more time and think how often those of us in the “real” world use those skills on a daily basis. My father worked in the automotive retail industry for fifty years, and I know for a fact that he used every one of those strands more than twice a day. As teachers we use them an infinite amount of time, for often we serve as performers for our students. Even in a world as advanced as ours these six literacy strands occur every day, often in routine situations such as at dinner tables.
As the educator of your sons and daughters it will be my goal to continue to develop and enhance all six of these language strands on a daily basis. My goal will be to accomplish in as many different ways as possible to ensure our classroom accounts for all learning styles. One project we have planned is a novel study in Social Studies of the book Blood and Iron by Paul Yee. The book follows a young Chinese boy and his journey to help in the building of the CP Railway in the late 19th century (1800’s).
This novel will allow us opportunities to hone our reading and writing skills through reflecting on the goings on in the novel. I anticipate, however, that much of the material will spark questions about Canada’s past and its identity. I have planned for many opportunities for students to share their thoughts and feelings on these topics as they arise with discussion groups and poster projects. The goal of which will be to develop our listening, speaking, viewing and visually representing literacy skills.
I truly am excited that the school year has finally begun and we may begin to teach and learn from one another. If any of you ever have any questions or concerns about things we are doing in class please do not hesitate to contact me via email. With your assistance and cooperation I know this year will be a success and our children will thrive in literal terms they never thought possible.
Truly yours,
Kyle Cantelon