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.
My Students
Do you wonder how low-skilled readers can be convinced to read with enthusiasm and success? I've been wondering this for years, until I stumbled on something that they clamor for when we have reading time in class. I've used my first generation Kindle and my new Kindle with great success.
Most of my students here in SC are from very low socio-economic communities.
Many come from single-parent homes or live with grandparents or foster families. Several have parents who are incarcerated in prison. They are full of energy and love of life, but they struggle daily with basic needs, having school supplies, and focusing on academic subjects. To many of them, the way to succeed in life is to become a professional athlete, so academic skills have low importance to these students and, often, their parents and families. It is difficult to convince these students to focus on building skills in academics so they can have a better future. Our school is becoming a STEM school, so we need to support these students with building basic skills so they can better succeed in science, math, engineering, and technology projects.
My Project
I've been experimenting in my classroom with allowing students the opportunity to follow along on my first generation Kindle while I read to them from my newer Kindle. I have found that all my students want to use the Kindle, no matter what their reading level. Since I have one Kindle for them to use, I've been allowing three students to share the Kindle. I've found that students who have difficulty staying on task are riveted to reading along with me when they use the Kindle. I increase the font size so that the amount of text they see at one time is limited, and that prevents their becoming overwhelmed or lost. I'm amazed at the success of this simple tactic. With more Kindles available, I'll be able to engage more students, form groups for reading circles, keep literature available instead of having lost/damaged books, help students improve vocabulary as they look up words while reading, as well as allowing teachers to create documents for notes or vocabulary for all subjects.
For many of my students, 6th grade will be the last and best chance to become proficient readers and thinkers.
Using the high-interest Kindle will help these struggling students learn to succeed through high-interest reading, ability to look up words easily, control of text amount visible, and the availability of class notes and vocabulary from all their teachers. This one project could mean the difference in their life paths: success and learning independence they have never had.
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. Horency and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.