November 25, 2008

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Your son or daughter will be starting an extended project in their English class that will be worked on over the next 4 weeks. Please carefully read the following information that describes your child's class project in a unit entitled "The Digital Short Story." We would like to introduce you to some of the main ideas and demands of this project in advance so that you will be aware of what sort of project your child will be engaged in. Throughout the unit, students will be learning about the short story and eventually writing their own short story. They will then take their story and create a digital story. Students will be given instruction on the elements of a short story and then apply those elements to their paper. They will gain an understanding of different forms of technology, in order to complete their digital story. At the end of the unit, students will present their digital stories to the class. We believe that this will truly be a worthwhile learning experience for your child.

Since students will be working in small groups or by themselves, there will be class time set aside for the students to work on the majority of their project. The project itself will require minimal outside time; however, students will be assigned homework on a weekly basis. The rubric for students’ grades throughout the unit is the following:

All necessary materials for this project will be provided, except for if your child decides to use personal pictures for their digital story.   

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us.

Wendy O’Leary
512-555-1234  
olearyw@hayscisd.com

Stephen Openshaw
512-555-1234
openshaws@hayscisd.com

James Diaz
512-555-1234
diazj@hayscisd.com

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Please detach and return.

I have read and understand the requirements of my child's English Project.

Child's name: _________________________     

Parent's name: _______________________________

Parent's signature: ___________________________

Date:_________________________________________