You're on track to get doubled donations (and unlock a reward for the colleague who referred you). Keep up the great work!
Take credit for your charitable giving! Check out your tax receipts
Donate
To use your $50 gift card credits, find a project to fund and we'll automatically apply your credits at checkout. Find a classroom project
Menu
Skip to main content

Help teachers & students in your hometown this season!
Use code HOME at checkout and your donation will be matched up to $100.

Your school email address was successfully verified.

Edit classroom photo

Ms. Zdeb’s Classroom Edit display name

Support her classroom with a gift that fosters learning.

  • Monthly
  • One-time

We'll charge your card today and send Ms. Zdeb a DonorsChoose gift card she can use on her classroom projects. Starting next month, we'll charge your card and send her a DonorsChoose gift card on the 17th of every month.

Edit or cancel anytime.

cancel

Support Ms. Zdeb's classroom with a gift that fosters learning.

  • Monthly
  • One-time

We'll charge your card today and send Ms. Zdeb a DonorsChoose gift card she can use on her classroom projects. Starting next month, we'll charge your card and send her a DonorsChoose gift card on the 17th of every month.

Edit or cancel anytime.

Make a donation Ms. Zdeb can use on her next classroom project.

Your custom url is https://www.donorschoose.org/ms-zdeb

View your stats
Track donations »
Edit
Last summer, I became a master book hustler. I could be found at thrift stores and book banks and garage sales every weekend, trying to find books that A) I could afford and B) that might encourage reluctant readers to pick up a novel and give it a shot. Although many of these books were damaged (as was my bank account), kids picked them up, and loved them. I've never had students rush to be the first to class to have first choice of new books, but as I included more diverse book selections in my classroom library, it became a frequent event. Arguments broke out over who had next dibs on a title. Students would hide a book somewhere in the classroom so they could read it next. Many asked if books had sequels, or what they should read next, or if they could check out multiple books at once. Many more did their own research, and asked me to add titles. Now, I want my students to have the same options and excitement about reading when they participate in book clubs with other kids. We do this up to four times a year, and each time I want students to have book options that reflect their identities. This has driven the selections I made for this project, with the help of weneeddiversebooks.org. Within my selections are stories about being a refugee, about being a person of color in the United States, and about mitigating the expectations of family and community while also staying true to their developing identities. With these books available to students, I am confident more students will be engaged in reading, discussing, and learning, and I am equally confident that they will feel more valued as they see themselves included in our classroom literature.

About my class

Last summer, I became a master book hustler. I could be found at thrift stores and book banks and garage sales every weekend, trying to find books that A) I could afford and B) that might encourage reluctant readers to pick up a novel and give it a shot. Although many of these books were damaged (as was my bank account), kids picked them up, and loved them. I've never had students rush to be the first to class to have first choice of new books, but as I included more diverse book selections in my classroom library, it became a frequent event. Arguments broke out over who had next dibs on a title. Students would hide a book somewhere in the classroom so they could read it next. Many asked if books had sequels, or what they should read next, or if they could check out multiple books at once. Many more did their own research, and asked me to add titles. Now, I want my students to have the same options and excitement about reading when they participate in book clubs with other kids. We do this up to four times a year, and each time I want students to have book options that reflect their identities. This has driven the selections I made for this project, with the help of weneeddiversebooks.org. Within my selections are stories about being a refugee, about being a person of color in the United States, and about mitigating the expectations of family and community while also staying true to their developing identities. With these books available to students, I am confident more students will be engaged in reading, discussing, and learning, and I am equally confident that they will feel more valued as they see themselves included in our classroom literature.

Read more

About my class

Read more
{"followTeacherId":3319484,"teacherId":3319484,"teacherName":"Ms. Zdeb","teacherProfilePhotoURL":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp3319484_orig.jpg?crop=526,526,x0,y73&width=136&height=136&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1560785375360","teacherHasProfilePhoto":true,"vanityURL":"ms-zdeb","teacherChallengeId":21249000,"followAbout":"Ms. Zdeb's projects","teacherVerify":-1902681402,"teacherNameEncoded":"Ms. Zdeb","vanityType":"teacher","teacherPageInfo":{"teacherHasClassroomPhoto":true,"teacherHasClassroomDescription":true,"teacherClassroomDescription":"","teacherProfileURL":"https://www.donorschoose.org/classroom/ms-zdeb","tafURL":"https://secure.donorschoose.org/donors/share_teacher_profile.html?teacher=3319484","stats":{"numActiveProjects":0,"numFundedProjects":3,"numSupporters":30},"classroomPhotoPendingScreening":false,"showEssentialsListCard":false}}
Supporting teachers and students since 2000

DonorsChoose makes it easy for anyone to help a classroom in need. Public school teachers from every corner of America create classroom project requests, and you can give any amount to the project that inspires you.

We've earned the highest possible ratings from Better Business Bureau, Charity Watch, Charity Navigator, and Guidestar.