My students need engaging YA texts to improve their literacy, motivation, and participation in school. These books would help create a literacy rich environment.
$487 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.
I teach two sections of a 90 minute English/Reading course for freshmen reading at the 6-8th grade level. We focus on improving reading, writing, speaking, listening, and grammar skills. I also teach a junior English class that aims to further develop reading and writing skills and prep for ACT.
My students enter high school with severe deficits in reading, writing, math, and life skills.
Many come from underprivileged homes and have responsibilities outside the classroom, including jobs and caring for younger siblings. The majority of my students and their families primarily speak Spanish, making their understanding of high school core subjects like English, math, social studies, and science, difficult.
This school is overpopulated and underfunded. This coming school year, teachers are holding classes in computer labs and other unconventional rooms due to lack of space. Counselor and other support staff have offices in closet spaces and music practice rooms because space is so limited. The school is unable to spend appropriate funds to provide adequate materials to address the needs of students and staff because they simply don't have the money at their disposal.
My Project
Students will use the books I have requested to improve their literacy skills. Currently, there is one library in the school, but it has a limited supply of high-interest books because they do not have the funds to update their texts very often. Additionally, the library houses one of the only computer spaces available for teachers and students to use, so it is often closed down for computer- based, state mandated testing.
These books will be available for students to check out in my classroom, so that they can have regular and easy access to texts they enjoy. Students will use these books on a regular basis as part of their independent reading projects and literature circle assignments. Both of these assignments encourage students to read independently, share what they've read, and engage in critical thinking, analysis, and problem-solving. The result is improvement in literacy skills, which is what these students need the most support in.
The books will be displayed in various "good books boxes" so that students are motivated to search for books that interest them.
This is a research based practice that has worked for me before in terms of getting even the most reluctant readers to find a book they enjoy. Students entering high school reading so far below grade level need to read as much as possible in order to close the gap. By providing them with interesting books, they are more likely to make that necessary progress.
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. Sanderman Owens and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
