My students need 24 high-interest books, including one class set of "I Am a Star: Child of the Holocaust" by Inge Auerbacher, that will connect to their lives.
$469 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
“Reading is boring!” “Books put me to sleep.” “I’ve never read a chapter book in my life.” Such are the sentiments of the frustrated readers who enter my class. Clearly, these students have never lost themselves in a story that triggers their emotions and captivates their imagination.
The 155 Latino ninth grade students I teach in Los Angeles have just come from some of the roughest, lowest-performing public middle schools in the country and are now trying to change the course of their education by enrolling in our college-prep charter school.
About 94% of these students qualify for free and reduced lunch, and roughly half of them speak English as a second language. Thirty of my freshmen read significantly below grade level. These challenges combine to put my 9th graders at a significant disadvantage compared to many other high school freshmen who will be applying for college in four years. At our school, we believe that every student can obtain the tools to be successful in college, and it is my job to help boost their literacy skills so that they can realize this dream.
My Project
These 24 high-interest books are perfect for the daily 20-minute independent reading station designed specifically for my below-grade level Read 180 students. Over the years, these students have struggled to find stories that capture their attention. Consequently, their initial opinion that “reading is boring” has not always changed by the end of the year. By helping our class obtain the action-packed, drama-filled novels requested, you will be helping a struggling reader connect to a book that might not only change their whole perspective on reading but may also change the trajectory of their education. In my Ethnic Studies class, I teach a Holocaust Unit. A dream of mine has been to read an account of a young Holocaust survivor together as a class. By reading and analyzing “I Am a Star” together, my students will connect even more deeply to the intense struggles of the time period and will also develop a passion for reading about history.
By funding this project, you will be helping our classroom obtain books that appeal to all levels of readers.
You will provide riveting and award-winning accounts of mystery, drama, animal attacks, athletic challenges, growing pains, war, triumph, and heartache. Your participation in this project will ensure that my students have access to books that, in the words of my reading student, read “like a movie in our heads.” These emotion-stirring books have the power to rapidly improve literacy.
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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. Richardson and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
