Books, paper, and art fill our day. Despite this, engagement is my biggest challenge. My goal is to increase student learning while increasing their love of reading. "Always Learning" is my favorite quote from Michelangelo. So, if we are to do this, then we must read exciting novels each year!
My students come from mostly low to middle income families.
They struggle each day to arrive on time, prepared, dressed, and with food in their stomachs. Each of my students is kind, warm, caring, and overall great kids living sometimes a day to day existence. However, they are the heart of our school and community. Each year, they participate in can food and clothing drives for the local shelter and each of them always donates one to two items for each drive. Additionally, my students made fleece blankets this past December for children in need through Project Linus. These are the types of students that attend my school.
My Project
Social Studies is not the most enjoyable for students. However, I told my students that we would read two novels, both that would transport us back in time to experience one such girl’s life as an internee at Camp Topaz in Utah as told in the novel, "Journey to Topaz" and a follow up novel called “Journey Home,” which tells the story how internees started life over after Camp Topaz. When I mentioned that she was the their age when this happened to her, their eyes widened. At this point, I told them no more and asked if they would be willing to read, write, and discuss about this event further if I were to get each of them a new copy? They all yelled "YES!" As a teacher, it is my hope to instill such enthusiasm about learning our country’s history as I am. I feel as if I have captured their interest, and I look forward to keeping it the rest of the school year! We will use these books to learn more about US history specific to our state and reinforce reading and writing skills.
This novel will help me guide my students to become more effective communicators as they learn to read, write, speak, and listen to one another.
Furthermore, they will also serve to motivate students to engage themselves with the reading material while building their literacy and social confidence. Additionally, I hope that my students’ will find current parallels from our past history with some of our present day events and be able to discuss what they can do to change known past outcomes.
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