Parent Letter...

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Smith,

Although Sally has been showing significant progress throughout the year, she is still struggling in the are of literacy. She needs improvement in her letter-sound knowledge, fluency and comprehension; however, all of these can be developed by differentiating instruction in the classroom and at home. When Sally does her work at the writing center or in her journals, she often gets only a few words down on the page that do not make sense. She has no trouble explaining to me in words what she wants to write about, but when it come down to actually writing the letters, she does not know where to begin. To help her improve upon this, I plan to start using Interactive writing time with Sally and also using Word Charts/Lists with her. The more she is exposed to common 1st grade words, the easier it will be for her to recall the spelling of these words. I will also begin working with her on sounding out the words by doing a clapping activity, which you can also do with her at home. When doing this, I would choose a simple book with words that she might not know. When she comes across a confusing word, we will sound it out while clapping the syllables, too. To improve upon Sally's comprehension, I will most likely be using the strategy of an Interactive read-aloud where I can ask her questions about the text while she reads. Questions can be about general understanding of what the characters are doing, how they are feeling and how the story makes her feel, too. This will allow her to connect with the story at a higher level than she is achieving right now. I hope that you take these types of differentiated literacy instruction into consideration and that we can work together to improve Sally's letter-sound recognition, fluency, comprehension and overall reading and writing. Sally has so much potential, and I think with the right instruction, she will be able to overcome some of these obstacles and start performing at a 1st grade level.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

- Miss. Prior