A newsletter is a summary of the news as it corresponds to your students' lives.
Creating a classroom newsletter is one way to keep students and parents involved. Reviewing some commonly used newsletter topics is a good place to start. In addition to this, try sparking your students' interests by asking them what topics they would like to see featured. By involving the class, it gives the students something to be proud of and in turn increases the chance of them sharing it with their family members.
Quotations
Inspire your class by putting a quotation somewhere the students will be sure to notice. Use a different quotation each time you re-create a newsletter. Be sure to keep in mind the age group of the class before listing a quotation. In addition, be ready for questions and discussions about the quotation as it is sure to spark some curiosity.
FAQs
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) are informative, especially if a special event like a school dance or class pictures is coming up. Students and even parents will most likely ask a lot of questions regarding these events. Include their questions in the FAQ section of your newsletter as a great resource for students and parents.
Current Events
Topics for a current events section are limitless, including anything such as events around the world, the local news and of course events happening in the school like a bake sale or an upcoming talent show. Depending on the age group of the class, incorporating world and local events is a way to relate their lives to the news and show them how the news affects them.
Week at a Glance
Keep your class on the same page by including a section called "Week at a Glance." Within this section discuss upcoming tests, assignments due, field trips, students' birthdays, holidays and even the weather.
Classroom Rules
At the beginning of your term, post the classroom rules in your newsletter. Throughout the year the newsletter can be a valuable tool for enforcing a single rule or a couple of rules as you see fit.
Student of Mention
Showcasing a student of mention, also known as star of the week or student of the week, inspires the other kids in the class to excel. In doing this, it also provides the student of mention the confidence she deserves.
Recap
Try something different. Instead of providing students with a newsletter about the upcoming week, provide a recap of the past week. Include a section about what the students accomplished, experimented on and/or learned the past week. Speak to how the students excelled. Mention things the students said and the perspectives they shared after learning about a certain topic.
Feedback
Have an area on your newspaper just for feedback. Leave it blank and allow both the students and their parents to write. Encourage them to write about anything they like such as new things to include in the newsletter, a question they have or a perspective they would like to share. This opens the door and encourages additional, valuable communication.
