Putting It All Together

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Unit Objectives - By the end of this unit, you will:

1. Finalize your plan for communicating with parents.
2. Create an artifact (written or video) to explain your plan.
3. Share your artifact with parents.

Lesson 1

At this point in the course, you have learned about strategies for one- and two-way communication with parents as well as creating tips for parents. Now it's time to put together a plan for working with parents.

Review what you wrote in your log up to this point. You may have many strategies that you want to try, but it is best to start small with one or two methods of communication and see how they work for you and your students' parents.

Write a Plan of Action. A sample is shown below.

The plan includes what will be done, the type of communication, the frequency of communication, and a method of evaluating the communication. While you don't have to use this format, you should include these categories so that you are clear about what you will do. Write your finalized plan in your log.

Lesson 2

You have a plan. Now it's time to let the parents know!

Your Plan of Action is complete. How will you share that information with parents? Create an artifact. This is something you have written or recorded that you will send to parents using a one-way communication tool. For example, you can create a one-page notice to let parents know what to expect from you.

written sample

Your artifact doesn't have to be written. You may choose to record a brief video to share the information. If you make a video,

1. Be sure to speak clearly
2. Use a background that isn't too busy or distracting.
3. Upload your video to YouTube so that parents can access it from anywhere.
4. If you include a phone number, email address, or other contact information, make sure to include captions. This video explains how to add captions.

Evaluation

Answer these questions in your log to self-assess your progress in working with parents:

1. How do you feel about working with parents (confident, afraid, annoyed, excited, something else?) Add a few sentences to explain why you feel this way.
2. Which strategy are you most excited about trying? why?
3. What do you think may be challenging?
4. How will you overcome this challenge?

After using your Plan of Action for a marking period, answer these questions again and add two more:

1. How did it go?
2. What changes, if any, will you make moving forward?

I hope you enjoyed this course, and best wishes for Working with Parents!

Return to Unit 1: One-Way Communication | Unit 2: Two-Way Communication | Unit 3: Tips for Parents | Course Homepage