Sample Parent Night Presentation Information
Teachers Prepare for Open House in High School English Class
Sep 12, 2008
When preparing for high school Parent Night Open House, it’s important to keep in mind what parents need to know about you, your class and your expectations for students. In high school, teachers may have as little as 15 minutes to communicate to parents the essential information about your class. Here are some ideas to maximize your limited time together.
Distribute Handout To Parents Previewing Your Course
This preview should include your name, contact information, and course name as well as content specific information. For example, if you teach 9th grade English, the following sample may be helpful.
Literature Annual Overview
This includes a genre-specific overview of literature that will be covered throughout the course of the school year.
- Short Story & Poetry Units
- Coming of Age Novel: The Outsiders
- Utopian Novel: The Giver
- American Classic: Of Mice and Men
- Shakespearean Tragedy: Julius Caesar
Additional Skills Focus
This informs parents of the specific skills their children will be working toward improving in your class.
- Literary Elements: concentration and emphasis will be placed on these terms in a literary context throughout the school year
- Vocabulary: new words examined in a literary context
- Grammar: overview includes capitalization, punctuation, fragments/run-ons, parts of speech, parenthetical documentation, sentence combining
- Writing Skills: emphasis on pre-writing, drafting, & revising expository and persuasive essays
- Test Preparation: specific strategy development & analysis of reading comprehension, writing skills, & test-taking strategies
Parent Tips During Open House
Here is an opportunity to share some suggestions with parents to help their children improve their study skills. First, you can make general suggestions, such as
- Ensure your child has a quiet place in which to study and complete homework.
- Provide your child with study tools, such as highlighters, folders, index cards, a voice recorder that can assist with vocabulary study.
- Help your child develop a study routine whereby he will complete his homework at the same time each day.
- Monitor your child’s consistent use of a daily planner or school.
- Arrange for your child to meet with a tutor regularly in a weak subject area .
Additionally, you can offer parents specific suggestions for how they can assist their children to succeed in your particular class. One of the most effective ways you can help parents be aware of the goings-on in your course is to give them a copy of your syllabus or course objectives and classroom policies and procedures handout.
Let them know you will send home a copy of the new syllabus at the beginning of each quarter and encourage them to ask their children for it. You can also offer to email the syllabus directly to parents. Another way to make your syllabus available is to post it on your school’s website or create a class blog where you can make public various class information.
Parent/Teacher Conferences
Although some parents may want to engage you in conversation at the end of your presentation, it is wise to encourage them to schedule a parent conference when you have time available and specific feedback prepared. Encourage busy parents to call or email you directly to discuss their child’s progress in your class.
By informing parents who visit you during open house of your specific goals and content of your course, you are communicating to them much more than content alone. They will witness your teaching presence, organization skills, and level of commitment to their children. Thus, preparing for this important evening is essential.
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