Parent+Letter

Letter to Parents of Students (Optional) =To the parents of students with high ability in language arts, = =Your child will be participating in an exciting project during the coming school year. A 9-week language arts unit designed to focus on critical reading and writing will be implemented in the classroom. = =During the summer of 2011, the Indiana Department of Education brought in the national expert in the area of language arts curriculum for high ability students, Dr. Joyce VanTassel Baska, Professor Emerita from The College of William & Mary. She has overseen the development of many research-based units of study for students with high ability in language arts, reading, science, math, and social studies; these units have been widely used and are published as the William & Mary Units. = =Dr. VanTassel Baska worked with a team of Indiana teachers, chosen through a competitive process from those who voluntarily submitted original language arts lessons for review. This team of outstanding language arts teachers then developed language arts units for each grade level, K-8, that align with the new Indiana Common Core Standards and are also appropriate for advanced learners. The units incorporate: = = · materials with reading levels above grade level = = · a model for critical thinking = = · opportunities for creative thinking = =Students will: = = · develop language skills, including critical reading skills = = · develop writing skills and focus on becoming effective communicators. = =These units can be used as a part of a sequence from grade level to grade level or they can stand alone. Teachers are provided professional development in the use of the materials and unit. The costs of development were paid by the funds allotted in the state budget for Gifted and Talented Education. Local funds were not used in this project. = =Students participating in this new curriculum will be those who have one of the grade level developers as a teacher or students who attend a school that is participating in the field testing of the units. As these units are implemented for the first few times, input will be gathered from the teachers for revisions. The goal is to make the materials as clear as possible for students and teachers. Teachers will also report on the curriculum’s effect on student learning. Suggestions will be gathered to find ways to improve the curriculum to increase the learning in critical reading, writing, language skills, and effective communication. Most high ability students find such curriculum interesting. This will be the student’s language arts curriculum for this period of approximately 9 weeks. We hope your child enjoys the curriculum and experiences growth in the area of language arts. =