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This teacher needs your help!

Mrs. Williamson from Boynton Beach, FL is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Mrs. Williamson is requesting

Merging Science and Reading with a Motivational Memoir

My students need 65 copies of the incredibly inspiring non-fiction memoir "Rocket Boys".

  • $967 goal

This project expired on December 24, 2010.

This project expired on December 24, 2010.

Classroom photo
Mrs. Williamson Boynton Beach Community High School
Boynton Beach, FL Grades 9-12

My Students

"Listen, rocket boy. This stuff can blow you to kingdom come." This quote encapsulates the impact this story has had on a wide array of people, many of whom are high school students. This is a story of a young boy daring to dream, to learn, and to become more than what is expected of him.

At our school, over 70% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

A large percentage of these students are English Language Learners, which means their parents have immigrated to the United States (largely from Haiti) and are currently at extreme poverty levels. Many of these students cannot contribute one dollar toward books or school supplies. Most of these students are taught that going to college is an unachievable dream, and that their circumstances are insurmountable. Many of these students read well-below grade level, and science achievement is low due to the lack of reading skills. In order to better serve these amazing kids (some of whom have emigrated after the devastating earthquake in Haiti) the ELL reading teacher and the ELL science teacher are working to bridge these two intimately connected subjects. We can motivate our students to dream and teach them to be excited about science while increasing reading and writing skills needed for college success.

My Project

"Inspired by Werner von Braun and his Cape Canaveral team, 14-year-old Homer Hickam decided in 1957 to build his own rockets. They were his ticket out of Coalwood, West Virginia, a mining town that everyone knew was dying--everyone except Sonny's father. Hickam's mother wanted her son to become something more than a miner and, along with a female science teacher, encouraged the efforts of his grandiosely named Big Creek Missile Agency. He grew up to be a NASA engineer and his memoir of the bumpy ride toward a gold medal at the National Science Fair in 1960--an unprecedented honor for a miner's kid--is rich in humor as well as warm sentiment (from Amazon.com review)." This book offers students a chance to engage in a reading text from two different perspectives. They will read this book in BOTH reading and science classes. They will identify with overcoming obstacles and pursuing their dreams in reading class AND learn about rocket building and physics in science class.

Students cannot really engage in a text if they do not have the freedom to take the book home.

We cannot encourage reading at home without providing the materials needed to do so. This project will allow each student to borrow their own copy of this amazing story for the duration of the project. They will fully engage and relate to this story, which will spark higher levels of thinking. Students will be more college-ready by increasing critical reading skills from two subject perspectives.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

More than half of students from low‑income households

65 students impacted
Mrs. Williamson Boynton Beach Community High School Grades 9-12

Celebrate Black teachers and kids! This project supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of students are Black.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

Boynton Beach, FL View local requests

More than half of students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

65 students impacted

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
Rocket Boys • AKJ Books $12.21 65 $793.65

Materials cost

$793.65

Vendor shipping charges

 FREE

Sales tax

 $0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$11.90

Fulfillment labor & materials

$35.00

Total project cost

$840.55

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$125.60

Total project goal

$966.15

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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Project Activity

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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. Williamson and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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