Ms. D. Ortiz’s Classroom Edit display name

About my class

A classroom library is the heart of classroom literacy. Last summer, I made a trip to Puerto Rico and brought back a curated handful of books I bought at a local store. I gave them to my students as a gift and they were honored to have such a beautiful collection. They decided to place them in a special box, which they labeled Sra. Ortiz´s Collection, which made me feel they valued the money and time I put into selecting them and bringing them back. As the year progressed, the box was almost always empty! The curated collection was their favorite shopping spot for books. They would even watch each other returning books to snatch them up right away. However, they were so careful to take good care of them. One student decided to be the one to make sure they were never found out of place or in need of repairs. By the end of the year, they probably knew them by heart, but it also means my students are hungry for authentic literature in Spanish. The collection I carefully put together would breathe in new fresh air into our learning environment. I plan to use them for independent reading, as read-aloud books for my strategy teaching, and in guided reading. We have a great need for nonfiction books, which I added to this project as well. I asked for one copy of each book, but at this moment I am seeking variety of options more than quantity. If my project is funded, I want to see which books become favorites so I can build on that in the future. Thank you so much!!!!