The letter below should be brought home by all 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students during the week of August 28th

Dear Parents of 6th, 7th and 8th Grade Students:

Hello and welcome to the 2017-2018 school year. Growing reading stamina is one of my personal teaching goals this year in our classroom, and as we begin a new year, I would like to share some thoughts about reading with you. Reading is a skill. The only way to get better at reading is to read—this holds true for excellent readers as well as reluctant readers. With this in mind, my goal is for our students to significantly increase their time spent reading and grow as readers. To this end I would like to see  students engaged in reading. I would like to see each student read at least 25 minutes every day, academically, and for fun at least 25 min daily, including independent reading during class. I will do my best to motivate our students to read academically as well as for fun. Before turning students loose on the books, it is essential that you read the rest of this letter to know what you are signing.

Think back to the last time you were trying to find a book to read; which book did you choose to read? Why did you want to read that particular book? All of us have different reading lives, and all of us enjoy reading different genres, titles, or authors. I find that to be true with my students as well, which is why I have an extensive classroom library with hundreds of books available for them to check out.  Since loving reading and books is one of the major goals of our year together in English, our classroom library plays a major role in the pursuit of that.
One of the things I love about teaching middle school is individuality. The differences in student interests, maturity levels, as well as learning goals are vast and varied. Kids arrive at school with different reading levels, different backgrounds, and different experiences that have shaped their lives in both positive and negative ways. They therefore have different needs and interests when it comes to reading. As a teacher, I have a responsibility to serve all of the kids who come to me, and a responsibility to offer literature choices that speak to all of them.  

Kids, in general, do a fantastic job of self-selecting books, and when they find they’ve picked up something they’re not ready for, they’re usually quick to put it down and ask for help choosing something else. (In fact, I encourage my students to abandon books that are not right for them at that time.) As a teacher, I’ll offer recommendations and steer kids toward books that are age and individually-appropriate, however self-selecting a book is a pillar of our reading community.
Please be aware that the selections in my classroom library, just like any public library, range from middle years fiction into young adult literature reading. Many focus on teen characters involved in realistic situations and coping with, at times, controversial topics or mature themes such as: violence, dealing with alcoholism, dealing with dating abuse, bullying, prejudice and loneliness, as well as responsibility, self respect, and courage. These books can be empowering tools for our students as not only readers, but also as coming-of-age individuals trying to make sense of their place in our world. Some parents do not mind their student reading about these topic; other parents may object.

As a teacher, I respect your right to help your own child choose reading material, and ask that you respect the rights of other parents/guardians to do the same. If you object to your child reading a particular book, let me know, send it back, and I’ll help your child find another selection. I’ll put the first book back on the shelf because even though you don’t feel it’s the right book for your child right now, it may be the perfect book for someone else’s child.  I would also encourage you to speak to your child about what types of books they feel comfortable reading so that this becomes a part of their selection process as well.  If I can ever be of help to you in recommending titles for your family, please don’t hesitate to ask. Our library will have a wide range of choices for kids – to meet all of their varied needs and help them all develop an appreciation of reading. Again, my only intention is to grow our students as readers and cultivate lifelong reading habits.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or would like to visit our classroom library.  Finally, thank you for your involvement in your child’s education and helping to encourage reading growth and engagement.

______________________________________________________________________________
_____ Yes, I have read & understood this letter, and my son/daughter has permission to use Gev. Petrova’s classroom library.

_____ No, I would prefer my son/daughter not have access to Gev. Petrova’s classroom library.

Parent Signature: _________________________________________________

Date ___________
Parent of: __________________________________________