My students need 3 sets of 5 new book titles "Holes", "The Outsiders", and "Somewhere in the Darkness" for their independent reading center. They are reading certain books so much, that they are falling apart.
I teach a class called Read 180 to 7th and 8th grade students. This is a class for students who struggle with reading. It's a great program! So great that the students are going from one chapter book to the next, which is putting wear and tear on our current chapter books and so we need more!
My students are students who struggle with reading.
They are below grade level in reading and did not pass the reading section of our Indiana state test (ISTEP).The majority of the students in my class are boys grades 7 and 8. I also have quite a few English as a second language (ESL) students. The wonderful thing about the reading program that I teach is that it motivates students to read books they otherwise wouldn't even think of reading before. When they complete the books they feel so accomplished! They even challenge and recommend books to their classmates. I love seeing the growth of my students from starting off the beginning of the year as a reluctant reader to becoming a more confident reader by the end of the year. Junior high is already a tough time, and the fact that these kids are enjoying reading at this age after struggling with it for so long is amazing to me!
My Project
My class is broken down into segments. They do three 20 minute rotations in groups of 5. One rotation is small group. In that rotation they meet with me and go over skills and review reading that we did as a whole group at the beginning of the class. The other rotation is the computer software. During that rotation, the students read to the computer as it checks their fluency, and it also helps them with spelling and word recognition. The other rotation is independent reading. In this rotation they read independently or read along with an audio book. The books that are most popular in this rotation are falling apart. By getting new books you are helping to ensure that the students continue to read their favorite books!
Seeing my students, who didn't like reading, ask to take the books home because they can't wait to read more, is an exciting thing to watch!
These new books will help to continue this trend in my reading class! Like I always tell my students: “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” You are helping our future leaders!
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