This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
I teach 8th grade Reading and Social Studies in a high-poverty, high-needs, high-optimism, and high-love urban classroom. Although we face more learning obstacles than the average classroom, we rise above with patience, creativity, and kindness.
Despite the good intentions of our high-optimism, high-love classroom, we are faced with a daunting challenge: more than half of the students in my class lag two to six years behind grade level. To no fault of their own, my students have severe gaps in their ability to read and comprehend literature. When an 8th grader reads at a 2nd grade level several problems typically arise. For instance, low readers often disguise their embarrassment with behavior problems. In some cases, low readers stare glossy-eyed at babyish picture books or they mentally shut off as they wear those puffy, large earphones while a crackly voice reads choppy "Dick and Jane" or "See Spot Run" stories on an audiobook. Struggling readers are often neglected as many teachers believe that they have fallen too far behind to catch up to their performing peers.
I disagree. It is never too late to teach someone to read.
Through my Masters' degree research and close work with a reading specialist, I have seen students' reading levels dramatically increase within very short periods of time. One Best Practice that contributes to closing the achievement gap is simple: sparking students' interest in reading. In order to do this, I allow students to sit at laptops and listen to engaging titles on audiobooks that I have purchased on iTunes. How will low readers become excited and engaged in "Dick and Jane" and other juvenile stories that further isolate them from their peers? They won't. In order for non-readers to emulate the sounds of "good" readers they need exposure to the pace, intonation, volume, and pitch of good readers. However, due to budget cuts, our classroom laptops are no longer available for daily use. When students return in the fall our independent reading program will no longer serve the needs of every student in the class.
Students in my classroom, particularly struggling readers, will greatly benefit from three classroom iPods to use during their daily independent reading time. Students will follow along to teenage-friendly bestsellers such as Twilight, Tears of a Tiger, Holes and many more.
I want the very best for my students. I must make up for lost time that has allowed many students to fall years behind their peers. All students deserve equal access to exceptional education. As an educator, I will go to any length to ensure that I am meeting every individual's needs. iPods may seem lavish, even unnecessary to some people; however, I am heartfelt and confident that 3 classroom iPods will profoundly impact my students' reading scores, and, much more importantly, their lifelong love of literature. Thank you.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Lago and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.