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.
Did you ever have a teacher who made class so engrossing that you got "tricked into learning"? I did, which was the reason I wanted to become a teacher. In my humble opinion, language teachers have a unique opportunity to make their class a fun break in the students' day. I love that my students are so engaged in the subject, but it pains me to hear, "Mademoiselle, comment dit-on..." (How do you say...) and not be able to let them look the word up for themselves. Because we are a charter school, funding is scarce. This would be a great opportunity to give the kids a little something extra in their language acquisition.
My kids are so excited and motivated, and they would really benefit from a classroom set of dictionaries (at this point we have two raggedy old paperbacks). They love to express themselves in French to the best of their abilities, and it would be awesome for them to be able to do this in a more independent manner.
A main focus of my class is getting the kids to realize that they already know more French than they think they do. Any student in my class (passing or not!) will be able to tell you that a cognate "looks the same, sounds the same, and means the same" between languages. I love to emphasize the similarities between French and English and capitalize on the roots and phrases that they already know (brunette, protégé, chauffeur, etc.). Having a classroom set of nice dictionaries would definitely help me out, because I could plan vocabulary activities around the additional resource.
In my nine years of teaching, I've never seen a group of students as enthused about learning French as the kids I'm currently teaching. They have asked several times if it would be possible for us to get additional resources, and I would love to be able to make that request come true. Dictionaries are the gift that keeps on giving, too! If you make this request come true, I can guarantee that my students will be given assignments at least three periods per week where this book will be the main resource.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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. Crittenden and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
