My students need 3 copies each of these titles *Snitch,* by A. Van Diepen; *Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass,* by M. Medina; and *Unbreakable: My Story, My Way,* by J. Rivera.
We all know that building a classroom library is the best way to motivate young people to read.
But I used to go about it all wrong.
A few years ago, I thought the answer was to get as many books as possible.
The bigger library, the better -- even if that meant having just one copy of each title.
I soon realized that even though I had a classroom library that approached 1,000 books, my ninth graders were spending too much time waiting for their peers to finish the most popular titles.
That's when I had an epiphany: The best classroom library is like a Barnes & Noble. The best thing to do is to have multiple copies of high-interest titles. Less selection with more access is better than more selection with less access.
The whole point is to "sell" these books, to get them moving.
I'm excited about this new approach, and so are my students. Over the years, my students have reclaimed their love of reading, and they're ready to take the next step.
My Project
*Snitch,* *Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass,* and *Unbreakable* are incredibly popular books, especially among Latina girls.
That's why I'm asking for three copies each of these titles to improve my students' reading skills and to experience the joy of reading. By devoting part of the curriculum to independent reading, where students can choose what they read instead of having a teacher assign them a book, I have witnessed a reading resurgence.
Reading has re-introduced to my students the power of story. My students have more empathy now because they take on the lives and struggles of the characters in their books. My students also have more calm now because of the mindfulness necessary to leave their world to enter another. Most of all, my students are more independent now because they understand that stories and texts can help them find answers.
I am hopeful that you can contribute to rebuilding my classroom library, book by book.
When we're done, it's going to be a robust one: each title will have multiple copies instead of one!
Thank you so much for your generous donation!
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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 Mr. Isero and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.