Reaching Our Readers at All Levels

My Students

"There is such sweetness inside of that book. Such things...adventure, knowledge and wisdom. But these things do not come easily. You have to pursue them. Like we ran after the bees to find their tree, so you must also chase these things through the pages of a book!" -Patricia Polacco, The Bee Tree

In our tight-knit farming community, students struggle with believing education, more specifically, reading is important for a successful and enjoyable life.

It seems most students want to learn and become better readers, but our classrooms and homes are lacking in rich literature that are written at the students' levels. Our classroom has an atmosphere of taking risks in order to learn. Students feel safe and know they will not get picked on for being a lower reader. Now students just need a plethora of books at their reading level in order to grow as a reader. The 62 third grade students that I teach get so very excited when a new book is introduced into our current classroom library. Their faces light up at the sight of a brand new book. They have learned to respect the books that are in our classroom library and they are constantly requesting for more non-fiction books, especially the boys.

My Project

Our classroom has an extensive collection of fiction leveled books that students read during reading workshop. In reading workshop, students are taught a mini-lesson on a particular reading strategy or skill and then are expected to practice this skill or strategy with books at their reading level. My students are anxious to try new strategies, but we do not have enough non-fiction books at the levels they need. As life long learners, students are going to be expected to read non-fiction throughout life, so they need a lot of practice. Our classroom library is especially lacking non-fiction books for students who are reading below grade level, and they are the ones that need the most practice. These lower leveled books I am requesting are quality non-fiction books that are leveled and organized for my students. The bins and the cart will ensure that the books stay organized and accessible to my 62 students who are excited to grow as readers.

In a classroom where students are willing and eager to grow as readers, it is imperative that students have access to non-fiction, quality books that are at their independent reading levels.

Reading books at their "just right" level is the only way they will grow as readers. When students grow as readers, they gain confidence. With confidence, comes enjoyment the minute they open up a book. They will become readers for life with your donation. Thank you!