Fun Fact: your teachers are busy people! This means they don't have time to decipher poorly written email messages. Please follow the guidelines below to ensure you are communicating with them in the proper manner.
Also, remember that you must email your teacher from your District email account. Emails from personal accounts will not be responded to.
The subject of your email should briefly outline what you are asking about. Here are some examples of acceptable subject lines:
Question about Monday's homework
Regarding today's class
Request to change project topic
Subject lines should be short, clear, and to the point. You are not explaining anything in detail. You are letting the teacher know what your email is going to be about.
How do you find your teacher's email address? That's easy. You can check the school website. You can check your teacher's website.
Or you can start typing your teacher's name into the address box. The teacher's name should automatically appear and let you select it! (This is one of the many reasons it is helpful to know your teacher's name).
You should begin your email with a friendly greeting. If you want to be formal, you can write 'Dear NAME OF YOUR TEACHER'. If you feel like you know your teacher well enough to be more informal, you can write 'Hi NAME OF TEACHER' instead.
Just don't start by going straight into your message. That's rude. It would be like going up to your teacher in school and talking straight at them instead of saying hello first.
Use the main body to outline what you would like to know. Try to be as clear as possible so your teacher understands what you require from them. Read through your email to make sure it says what you want it to. Use proper words and sentences rather than slang, Internet speak, and emojis.
Remember, if you are not clear, your teacher will not know how to help you.
Ending an email is like ending any form of communication: you need to have a sign-off. Here are some examples you might like to use:
Thank you for your help, TEACHER NAME.
Have a great day.
I look forward to your response.
You can then sign off with your own name at the bottom.
Do not expect an instant response from your teacher. Most teachers will try to get back to you as soon as possible, either via email or in class. Sometimes this will not be possible.
If you have not heard from your teacher after a couple of days, a polite follow-up email is acceptable.
