Dear Families and Students,

My name is Amelia Phoenix and I am a student at Seattle University working towards a master in teaching degree.  This spring, I will be working with students in Mrs. M's class, as a student teacher.  I have a great passion for teaching, and am very excited to get to know all of you very soon!  I wanted to write this letter to introduce myself briefly and also to let you know more about a themed literature unit we will be completing this spring.

            The unit is called will focus on the theme of understanding different perspectives.  We will be participating in literacy circles to read several different books.  All of these books are American historical fiction books, and have something to do with understanding different perspectives.  Students will read their selected books and discuss the books in light of the theme in small groups.  We will also be reading aloud Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes, which details the life of a boy living in colonial Boston times.  As part of this, we will discuss different comprehension skills as well as connections to our social studies.
            During this unit, I encourage families to ask their children about the book they are reading.  This will help increase their comprehension and give ideas for discussion during literacy circles.  Students will also be writing regular entries in their reading journal about our theme of understanding different perspectives.  I encourage you to discuss this with your child at home.  I have created a website, which I will update with journal prompts on a regular basis.  This website address is http://sites.google.com/site/literatureperspectives/, if you and your student would like to check it out!  I will also be sending this information home on a regular basis with students.  If you would like me to contact you directly with this kind of information, please do not hesitate to let me know!  In addition, if you have any ideas or questions about how to make this unit even more engaging to the students, please feel free to contact me.  I have included my contact information below.

Thank you for your time and all that you do to support your students at home!  I look forward to meeting and speaking with all of you soon!
            Sincerely,
            Amelia Phoenix