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Ms. Bencel from Chicago IL is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

Open a Book, Open a Mind

My students need 4 copies each of 100+ books as part of their reading and writing curricula.

  • $3,863 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

My Students

"The whole world opened to me when I learned to read." - Mary McLeod Bethune

There are currently 100 students in four second grade classrooms at our school.

They represent a wide variety of cultures, languages, religions, and experiences. Our students are eager to learn about their world. Each classroom will receive 109 books through this project, and the books will open up the world to our students.

My Project

Each second grade classroom at school will have its own set of 109 books. The students will use the materials on a daily basis as mentor texts to enhance the lesson of the day. The books will create reading independence and fluency while giving students exposure to a rich variety of texts. Having the books in the classroom, as opposed to checking them out from the library, will allow us to make connections and refer back to the texts throughout the year.

The books in this project are high quality literature that encompass many different cultures and genres.

The books will enrich students' vocabularies and give students exposure to ideas and information they may not experience within their community.

Ms. Bencel
Grades PreK-2

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
The Random House Book of Poetry for Children : A Treasury of • AKJ Books $16.78 4 $67.12
Poems to Learn by Heart • AKJ Books $14.59 4 $58.36
Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 (Richard Jackson Books (Atheneum Hardcover)) • Amazon Business $13.88 4 $55.52
Recess Queen Alexis O''Neill, Alexis O''Neil, Laura Huliska-Be • AKJ Books $13.13 4 $52.52
The Talking Eggs Robert D. San Souci, Jerry Pinkney (Illustr • AKJ Books $13.13 4 $52.52
Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School Mark Teague • AKJ Books $13.13 4 $52.52
Stone Soup • AKJ Books $13.13 4 $52.52
How Big Were Dinosaurs? • AKJ Books $13.13 4 $52.52
When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson • AKJ Books $13.13 4 $52.52
Little Red Riding Hood • Amazon Business $13.04 4 $52.16
Pop!: The Invention of Bubble Gum • Amazon Business $12.95 4 $51.80
Oceans: Dolphins, sharks, penguins, and more! • Amazon Business $12.75 4 $51.00
Tops & Bottoms (Caldecott Honor Book) • Amazon Business $12.64 4 $50.56
Boxes for Katje • Amazon Business $12.43 4 $49.72
I Wanna Iguana Karen Orloff, David Catrow (Illustrator) • AKJ Books $12.40 4 $49.60
I Wanna New Room • AKJ Books $12.40 4 $49.60
The Leaving Morning • AKJ Books $12.30 4 $49.20
The Best Story • Amazon Business $12.16 4 $48.64
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse • Amazon Business $12.14 4 $48.56
Officer Buckle & Gloria (Caldecott Medal Book) • Amazon Business $11.91 4 $47.64
Hey, Little Ant • AKJ Books $11.67 4 $46.68
Walt Disney's Cinderella (Reissue) (Walt Disney's Classic Fairytale) • Amazon Business $11.32 4 $45.28
Falling Up • Amazon Business $11.29 4 $45.16
Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings • Amazon Business $11.29 4 $45.16
Owl Moon • Amazon Business $10.09 4 $40.36
The Best Book of Spaceships • Amazon Business $9.64 4 $38.56
Eye Wonder: Rain Forest • AKJ Books $8.02 4 $32.08
Arctic A to Z (A to Z (Firefly Books)) • Amazon Business $7.95 4 $31.80
Clarabelle: Making Milk and So Much More • Amazon Business $7.95 4 $31.80
DK Eyewitness Books: Ocean • AKJ Books $7.29 4 $29.16
Click, Clack, Moo • AKJ Books $7.29 4 $29.16
A Pizza the Size of the Sun • AKJ Books $7.29 4 $29.16
Something Big Has Been Here Jack Prelutsky, James Stevenson • AKJ Books $7.29 4 $29.16
Manatees/Manatíes (Animals That Live in the Ocean/Animales Que Viven En El Oceano) • Amazon Business $7.28 4 $29.12
Baseball Saved Us • AKJ Books $7.26 4 $29.04
Thank You, Mr. Falker • Amazon Business $7.18 4 $28.72
Nature's Patchwork Quilt: Understanding Habitats • Amazon Business $7.16 4 $28.64
The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash • Amazon Business $6.99 4 $27.96
Life Cycles: Grassland (Lifecycles (Kingfisher)) • Amazon Business $6.99 4 $27.96
Life in the Desert (Habitats around the World) • Amazon Business $6.95 4 $27.80
A Walk in the Deciduous Forest • AKJ Books $6.56 4 $26.24
A Walk in the Rain Forest • AKJ Books $6.56 4 $26.24
The Abcs of Habitats • AKJ Books $6.53 4 $26.12
Water Habitats Bobbie Kalman • AKJ Books $6.53 4 $26.12
The Arctic Habitat • AKJ Books $6.53 4 $26.12
A Forest Habitat • AKJ Books $6.53 4 $26.12
A Desert Habitat • AKJ Books $6.53 4 $26.12
A Rainforest Habitat • AKJ Books $6.53 4 $26.12
What If There Were No Lemmings? • AKJ Books $6.53 4 $26.12
A Grassland Habitat • AKJ Books $6.53 4 $26.12
Amazing Grace • AKJ Books $6.25 4 $25.00
Volcanoes (True Books) • Amazon Business $6.00 4 $24.00
What Is the World Made Of? All About Solids, Liquids, and Gases (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 2) • Amazon Business $5.99 4 $23.96
Magnetism (Blastoff! Readers) • Amazon Business $5.95 4 $23.80
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble • Amazon Business $5.94 4 $23.76
Explore the Tropical Rain Forest Linda Tagliaferro • AKJ Books $5.91 4 $23.64
Explore the Grasslands Kay Jackson • AKJ Books $5.91 4 $23.64
Explore the Desert Kay Jackson • AKJ Books $5.91 4 $23.64
Lon Po Po • AKJ Books $5.83 4 $23.32
Too Many Tamales • AKJ Books $5.83 4 $23.32
Fortunately • AKJ Books $5.83 4 $23.32
Empty Pot • AKJ Books $5.83 4 $23.32
Snowflake Bentley • AKJ Books $5.83 4 $23.32
Mirette on the High Wire Emily Arnold McCully, Emily Arnold • AKJ Books $5.83 4 $23.32
My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother • AKJ Books $5.83 4 $23.32
Relatives Came • AKJ Books $5.83 4 $23.32
Deserts Gail Gibbons, Gail Gibbons (Illustrator) • AKJ Books $5.83 4 $23.32
Solids, Liquids, and Gases (2nd Edition) • AKJ Books $5.83 4 $23.32
Strega Nona • AKJ Books $5.83 4 $23.32
Milk Makers • AKJ Books $5.83 4 $23.32
Bats Gail Gibbons, Gail Gibbons (Illustrator) • AKJ Books $5.83 4 $23.32
Ice Cream: The Full Scoop Gail Gibbons • AKJ Books $5.80 4 $23.20
Thunder Cake • Amazon Business $5.41 4 $21.64
Bats • AKJ Books $5.32 4 $21.28
Oliver Button Is A Sissy • AKJ Books $5.11 4 $20.44
Julius, the Baby of the World • AKJ Books $5.10 4 $20.40
Chrysanthemum • AKJ Books $5.10 4 $20.40
Where Does the Garbage Go? • AKJ Books $5.10 4 $20.40
Whistle for Willie • AKJ Books $5.10 4 $20.40
Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs! • AKJ Books $5.10 4 $20.40
Nature''s Green Umbrella: Tropical Rain Forests • AKJ Books $5.10 4 $20.40
The Story of Ruby Bridges • AKJ Books $5.10 4 $20.40
Tacky The Penguin • AKJ Books $5.10 4 $20.40
My Name Is Yoon • AKJ Books $5.10 4 $20.40
The Sign Painter • AKJ Books $5.10 4 $20.40
Germs Make Me Sick! • AKJ Books $5.10 4 $20.40
The Boy Who Cried Wolf • AKJ Books $5.10 4 $20.40
The Wolf Who Cried Boy • AKJ Books $5.10 4 $20.40
Sunken Treasure Gail Gibbons, Gail Gibbons (Illustrator) • AKJ Books $5.10 4 $20.40
Egyptian Cinderella, The • AKJ Books $5.10 4 $20.40
Bad Case of Stripes David Shannon, David Shannon (Illustrato • AKJ Books $5.10 4 $20.40
Bigmama''s • AKJ Books $5.10 4 $20.40
Shortcut • AKJ Books $5.10 4 $20.40
Roller Coaster • AKJ Books $5.10 4 $20.40
A Chair for My Mother • AKJ Books $5.10 4 $20.40
One Morning in Maine Robert McCloskey • AKJ Books $5.10 4 $20.40
Day''s Work • AKJ Books $5.07 4 $20.28
Jellyfish • AKJ Books $4.96 4 $19.84
Should We Have Pets? • AKJ Books $4.75 4 $19.00
The Name Jar • Amazon Business $4.74 4 $18.96
The Pain and the Great One • AKJ Books $4.37 4 $17.48
Nate the Great and the Monster Mess • AKJ Books $4.37 4 $17.48
Be a Friend to Trees • AKJ Books $4.37 4 $17.48
Solids, Liquids, and Gases Carol K. Lindeen • AKJ Books $4.34 4 $17.36
Fox and His Friends (Penguin Young Readers, Level 3) • Amazon Business $3.99 4 $15.96
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 • Amazon Business $3.94 4 $15.76
Solids, Liquids, and Gases Ginger Garrett, Linda Bullock • AKJ Books $3.61 4 $14.44
Cam Jansen & Mystery of the Dinosaur Bon • AKJ Books $2.91 4 $11.64
Amelia Bedelia (I Can Read Book Level 2) • Amazon Business $2.70 4 $10.80

Materials cost

$3,204.84

Vendor shipping charges

 FREE

Sales tax

 $0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$48.07

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$3,282.91

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$579.34

Total project goal

$3,862.25

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $3,862.25

48 Donors

-$2,896.95

Donations toward project cost

-$2,530.66

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$366.29

Matching donations from our partners

-$885.00

Match offers toward project cost

-$752.25

Match offers to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$132.75

Excluded support for DonorsChoose

-$80.30

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

View complete list Show less

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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 Ms. Bencel and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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