Back to School Night--a Different Kind of Open House

This is the first school year where I attended a Back to School Night that was similar to the one we host at our high school.  My son is now a 6th grader in the same district where I teach, so it makes sense that the set-up was similar. 

Confession: I didn't like it.

Here is the set-up:  parents move from class-to-class, going through their students' schedules just as our children do during the day.  Parents are then subjected to sit through whatever 12-minute spiel each teacher has prepared for them.  Invariably, these are focused on: 1) who the teacher is, including his/her credentials; 2) what the class is about; 3) what sort of work to expect for your child; and 4) how your child is graded.

Admittedly, parents have the same experience at the high school--including their time spent in my (our) classroom.  Not this year, my friends.

 

Inspired by my experience as a parent, I decided to change the focus for the parents of my students.  This year, I decided to set up stations for parents to rotate through.  Stations included:

1.  Books we will read (with samples)

This station included the books students will/could encounter throughout the year--and a list of questions for parents to ask their students about their reading experiences.

2.  Writing focus/assignments 

This station provided a variety of types of writing that the students will encounter, student samples, rubrics, etc.

3.  Reading Conference station

This station reviewed our process with the students' reading journals.  It included student samples, including a sample conference video playing on an iPad.

4.  Word Gaming station

This was just for people who needed to fidget--or for parents who brought along younger siblings

5.  Write A Note To Your Student station

After reviewing items from all of the stations, parents were invited to write a note to their students.  I shared these notes with students the next day.

Here is the document I use:

Welcome, Parents! 

Thank you for being a part of your child’s education.  Your involvement helps your child succeed.

Name_____________________________________Student____________________________

1. In your experience, what have you found best helps your student learn?

2.  What do you think you could do at home to help your child practice the skills assessed in this course?

3.  Leave a comment for your student. I will share it with him/her tomorrow as a surprise.

***************************************************************************************************

I also have a Google Slides show running that includes information that they may be interested in, (like my credentials, my contact info, my hopes & dreams for their students...) but they are not subjected to a lecture listing all of this info.  

Any other information that might typically get shared at this type of evening is on the class syllabus--which gets sent home during the first two days of school.

Honestly, I don't know if parents thought this was beneficial or a better format...but I sure felt a lot better about it!

Here are some photos of the evening in action: