My students need 47 read aloud books that teach values, builds excitement for reading, can be used as a model of fluency, and builds vocabulary awareness.
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.
My Students
Do you remember what it was like to listen to a story as a child? You probably didn't know it at the time, but just listening to books made you a dramatically better reader. Unfortunately, my students don't have the resources to have that experience.
My kindergarten students come from a low income community and a city that is suffering in this recession.
They are students at a performing arts charter school where they achieve excellence through specials classes such as art, dance, vocal, and orchestra.
My students are the most inspiring people I've met in my life. Though they come from challenging backgrounds and have had experiences that are inconceivable at such a young age, they enter the classroom with a heart filled with love and a curiosity to learn.
Unfortunately, while they have a strong spirit, my students enter the year academically behind. While most kindergartners are expected to know all their letters by the time they enter in the fall, my kindergartners typically know less than 50% of their letters. The majority of them cannot write their name legibly. Most noticeably, they come with extremely low exposure to words, partly because only 36% of low income parents read to their children at home.
My Project
To increase my students' exposure to books, I am asking for a read aloud library that I will use to fill every minute of the day with reading. The books I have chosen are read aloud gems, compiled after consulting the Read Aloud Handbook, Scholastic, Amazon, Read Aloud America, and other resources.
Read-alouds have been proven through numerous studies to benefit students in countless ways. Not only does it model fluent reading, it also exposes them to vocabulary that they do not encounter in everyday conversation or television. Furthermore, it increases print awareness and harvests excitement for reading. This is especially critical for my students, many of whom do not have any books at home.
Using the books requested, I will start off every day with a read aloud in our morning meeting. Then, I will incorporate as many read-alouds as possible across subjects. Snack time will feature a read aloud every day as my students eat. Lastly, every day will end with a read aloud.
Access to books is a necessity to becoming a strong reader.
My students, due to lack of resources, come into the classroom not having been read to. I am determined to right that wrong by reading to them as much as possible. Unfortunately, though I've bought as many books as possible, my funds are quickly running out. I'm hoping that with the help of donors, I can still achieve my dream of building a read aloud library.
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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 Ms. Jiang and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.