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Step 1
Decide how often you will send out your classroom newsletter. It is best to stick to a regular schedule so that you can point out to parents at the beginning of the year when they can expect a copy. One advantage of a monthly newsletter is that a one-page edition will probably suffice; another advantage is that your news and information will be fresh. However, putting out a newsletter each quarter to coincide with the natural divisions of the school year can serve as a wrap-up of the last quarter and a preview of the next.
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Step 2
Decide on the regular features of your newsletter. These will probably include a calendar marked with days when students have no school, special schoolwide events, special classroom events, testing dates and days when projects and big assignments are due. Another regular feature might be titled "In the curriculum." In that section, you might, as an example, include such information as the following: "In social studies we will be studying topographical maps; in science we will investigate the body's circulatory system."
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Step 3
Plan what features you want to include in the newsletter and when you will present them. For example, you might want to write a list of hints for successful homework completion at the beginning of the school year or some suggestions for leisure reading halfway through the year. You might include photographs of students working on group projects such as a classroom mural. Newsletters also afford a teacher the opportunity to let parents know issues of concern, such as bullying or kids skipping breakfast.
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Step 4
Create a student corner. Divide the number of students by the number of newsletters and make sure each student has an opportunity to write a short piece at some point during the year. A quarterly newsletter representing a classroom of 24 students would mean six students represented in each issue. The students might contribute such pieces of writing as a report on a field trip the class took, a poem written during a unit on creative writing or a description of a school event such as career day.
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Step 5
Ask for feedback from parents to find out what elements of the newsletter they find helpful and what other items they would like to see included. You might even ask parents to contribute to the newsletter: If you brought up your concern about students skipping breakfast, you might ask parents to contribute, for the next issue, some ideas for quick and nutritional morning meals their kids like.
