About this Daily Classroom Special:
The Outdoor Path to
Good Writing was
written by Teachers Network web mentor, Lisa Kihn, a math and
language arts teacher at Nevin Platt Middle School in Boulder, Colorado.
Lisa believes in project based learning and curriculum integration to
actively involve students in their learning process.
Parent Letter for The Outdoor Path to Good Writing
“Memories just may be the most important possession any writer
has…”-- Ralph Fletcher
Writers will attest to the importance of writing from careful observation and personal experience. Beginning writers need to explore the rich wells of experience around them as subjects for their writing. Your child is about to begin writing a story based on a personal experience. This letter is an invitation to join us as writers.
Your child will be writing and collecting memories, which will ultimately be turned into a realistic fiction story. We are inviting you to write about a personal memory to share with your child. You may reminisce about an experience you shared with your child. You could write a letter to your child sharing your thoughts about him or her. You may also want to share an experience you had when you were your child’s age. Feel free to use a format that is comfortable for you. Some topics parents have chosen in the past are:
- A time when a parent was most proud of a son/daughter
- Times the student made the parent smile or laugh
- Important firsts in a child’s life
- Lessons a parent hopes their child has learned
- A piece about a photograph of a person or event
I know that for some of you, this is a request that will be hard to fulfill. However, your child will appreciate the importance of the piece and the effort it took. It’s fine to admit to your child that writing isn’t easy for you. We know that writing comes more easily for some people, but writing every day helps the words flow more freely for everyone. We also know that sometimes the most significant memories are the most difficult to get down on paper.
Because of the time it takes to write something like this, I have planned ahead to give you at least three weeks to write your piece. Please begin collecting your thoughts and have fun with this. It will mean a lot to your child.
In support of this writing project, we will be taking a walking field trip to the Bobolink Trail, where we will be able to have some quiet reflective writing time. I plan on taking my class on ________________________________. I would love to have parent volunteers join us as we hike and write. Please let me know if you can come.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions.