Reading is empowering, and it is beautiful. This year, my students are being challenged to push their 'reading limits' and immerse themselves in 40 books before May!
My 90 fifth grade students are a group of fun-loving and growing readers!
We are divided among 3 classes and meet daily for 1 hour throughout the week. The reading levels of my students are varied, reaching from the beginning of 2nd grade through the middle of high school. With a lot of practice, we will all be fluent readers capable of reading grade-level texts by May!
When my students first learned of their 40-book goal, they were shocked and were positive it was not possible. As we have broken the goal down into genres, traded book reports for response letters, and implemented 'student choice' of texts - my students are excited! While students still say "40 books is more books than I read in ALL of elementary school!", the phrase is now a challenge.
We are a public-school located in a rural Kentucky county. Approximately forty percent of our students qualify for free and reduced lunch services.
My Project
The best way to become a better and more fluent reader is to read MORE! This school year, I have set the goal for my students to read 3,600 books, and we are on our way! Students spend 40 minutes each day reading (20 in class and 20 at home). By the end of the year, we will have laid the foundation for a lifetime of word loving! :)
As students read, they also write weekly response letters to me about their reading, questions they have, and connections they are making. I respond to my students with a letter that encourages their reading and thinking. These letters become 'reading conversations' between us sharing our thinking and habits as readers.
Only a select group of 5th graders go to the library at my school, so the only access they have to books is through my classroom library. As a first-year teacher, this has been cumbersome. Through my personal funds, I expanded our classroom library with 150 books, but my students have quickly found the 'gaps' in my collection!
I teach because I love kids, and I believe learning is beautiful.
I want students leaving my classroom knowing that they are dearly loved and that reading is wonderful. Your donation will develop my student's desire to read and facilitate the process of becoming word lovers! Thank you.
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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. W. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
