February 25, 2000

Dear Parents,

On Thursday, March 2 our class is going to the Michigan Historical Museum. We will be revisiting the displays and exhibits the students studied in Mrs. Holtschlag's class. Our emphasis on this visit will be find examples of the core democratic values (patriotism, truth, popular sovereignty, common good, equality, justice, diversity, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) that we've been studying this year.

I am a part of the Civics-On-Line group which includes educators from MSU, Lansing, Okemos, and Haslett Schools. The purpose of this group is develop and implement innovative learning activities to help students learn about civics and the core democratic values. The learning activities which prove successful will be placed on the Internet to be available to teachers throughout Michigan. Some of the learning activities are being video-taped, transferred to digital format, and the resulting still images and /or movies may appear on the Civics-On-Line Web Site.

After completing the activities, some students will be interviewed to determine what they learned and whether or not they enjoyed the activity. Audio clips and transcripts from the student interviews will also appear on the Civics-On-Line Web Site.

If our museum activity proves successful, video, still images, audio clips, and interview transcripts of students in our class may be selected to become part of the Civics-On-Line Web Site. No names will be used with any student audio clip, video clip, or still image. Pseudonyms will be used in the interview transcripts.

Please indicated below if you give permission for your to be a part of this project. If you do not want your child to be part of the Civics-On-Line Web Site he/she may still participate in the museum activity.This is not a requirement, so your child's grade will not be affected. If you have any questions regarding this letter, please feel free to contact me at school (339-8253) or at home.

Sincerely,

J. Keith Etheridge

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I grant permission for __________________________ to participate in the following projects:

______ To go to the Michigan Historical Museum and participate in this learning activity

______ To have my child's still image, a video clip and/or audio clip, and/or a written transcript of my child's response to questions appear on the Civics-On-Line Website

____________________________
Parent Signature

1875 Lake Lansing Road, Haslett, Michigan 48840-8228
Phone: (517) 339-8253 Fax: (517) 339-4830