I work with struggling readers. For these kids, one of the greatest challenges is learning the sounds that letters make and successfully internalizing that knowledge so that they can decode and comprehend as they read.
I work as the reading specialist in a small elementary school in Pennsylvania.
These kids struggle with the basics of reading and for many of them, the written form of a letter is not enough for them to successfully learn the sound. Many of these students are non-native English speakers, who will be the first fluent English speaker in their families. Others come from homes that struggle economically. All of my students have the potential to shine and I work hard to help them reach their potential through a variety of approaches. Limited resources strains my creativity at times and this project contains one of the items that I've been unable to create myself in an effective manner.
My Project
The materials that I've requested will allow my students to explore the sounds letters make in a way that goes beyond looking at a word on a page or rote repetition of a letter sound. By manipulating and playing with objects that share letter sounds, the kids will be able to make associations and connections between items and across sounds, to help them grow and thrive as readers.
One idea I have for these materials are making 'letter stories' -- having the students select a tub and then make a story using several items that share the same letter sounds. This will let them play with language in a way that kids who struggle with simply remembering what sound 'e' makes seldom get to do.
Without reading, children cannot hope to succeed in school or life.
A child who struggles with the basics will continue to struggle and will eventually fall so far behind that many of them will just stop trying. The items I'm requesting will help me help my students build the basic framework of their understanding of language.
Please help my students receive these items! Thank you!
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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 Ms. Gebhart and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
