SherryV+Parent+Letter

April 6, 2010

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As part of the Open Court Unit //Going West//, our class will be completing an interactive multimedia project. An interactive multimedia project, or IMP, is a real-world, problem-solving style project where there are interactions within the process and product and involve multimedia such as sound, video and images. We will be going to the computer lab several days a week throughout the next month, and the students will also be learning important research skills and digital citizenship skills. In this project, students will be finding reasons why families moved west, what challenges they faced, and how they began their new lives. As a culminating activity, we will share our presentations and students will debate whether or not they would have decided to move west. Start looking in closets and thrift stores, because I would like students to dress in period clothing to celebrate the end of the project! There are many skills needed for IMPs, including planning and time management. The responsibility required for this project will help your child in middle school, where projects, time management and planning are important skills for success. All the work will be kept in a separate binder, along with the rubric and work contract your child signed. I will be grading students on the following criteria: Storyboard 10 Points Notes and Research: 10 points Presentation First Draft/Revisions 10 points Final Product 20 points Technology Use 10 points Sharing 10 points Debate 10 points Organization 10 points Work Habits 10 points

Thank you for your support. I am truly looking forward to this project, and I welcome you to come in the days we share and debate. I will let you know more details at a later date.

Sherry Valenti Please return the bottom portion of this letter to me by Friday, April 9. I have read the letter about the Interactive Multimedia Project and have spoken with my child about the requirements. ___________________________________________________________ ________________________ Parent Signature Date