We began to WEB! Lots of teachers use WEBS to plan (like the one above). I am talking about using WEBS to communicate.
There are several reasons why I love the WEB for communicating with parents.
1. A WEB is created by teachers and children. Newsletters are usually written exclusively by teachers.
2. A WEB is flexible. It looks different each week and grows exponentially with the interesting and engaging things you do with children.
3. A WEB is the beginning of a conversation between children and parents. Newsletters are usually read by parents and then tossed (so sad!).
4. A WEB is eye-catching and appealing. Newsletters may look sad.
5. A WEB takes a very short time to read. Newsletters can be too wordy and heavy to read. Busy parents might put them aside and forget about them.
So, how do you create your first WEB? I like to sit the children down and ask them about the week. You can begin by asking, “What did we do this week?” and brainstorm all of the interesting things that happened. For each thing they come up with, ask a follow-up question, like, “Did we do anything else about that?” These extra activities are webbed out from the central topic. I am attaching Weekly Web here (it is a pretty simple example, but you can get the picture).
Give webbing a try- see if you like it.