Children are the best asset this country has. They are our most crucial and most valuable natural resource. I teach fifth grade at a local elementary school located in the inner city of Wisconsin. Our student body consists of many different ethnicities. We are 93% poverty, and the majority of our children our English language learners. We are a Title I school as well as a Sage school.
As a result of being a Sage school, our K-3 classrooms have numerous resources and monies. Unfortunately though, my fifth grade classroom does not qualify for these monies. I usually have anywhere between 25-30 kids in my classroom. In the past, I have spent thousands of dollars a year buying supplies and books for my children. I will still fund a lot of the resources for the children, but I am asking this year though if I could have help buying some books for the children.
With multiple copies of the books I requested, I will be able to conduct literature discussion groups with engaging, deep comprehension books. In today’s work force and society, it is no longer appropriate just to be able to read the words on the page. Children need to be able to engage deeper thinking skills, like analyzing, inferring, evaluating, and critiquing. Children need to learn how to think on their own.
Literature discussion is a group of five to seven children that read an appropriate book for their reading level. When they are finished with this highly engaging book they discuss their thoughts on this book and the teacher mediates the children in order to reach higher level thinking skills. Research has shown that literature discussions rapidly improve a child’s thinking skills and therefore increase their reading levels. In fact, I had four kids last year that were reading at an eighth grade level. During summer school, I had kids go up more than two reading levels. Summer school was only fifteen days. This is an incredible achievement.
With your help, I am ensuring that my kids will be successful. I have many hopes that all my kids will be reading at or above grade level by the end of their fifth grade year. The community, parents, and teachers need to work together to ensure our children receive the best education they can. If it is not too much trouble, I am asking for a small donation to make this project come to fruition. Our children are the most precious thing available to us. We must work together to make sure every child reaches his or her fullest potential. I appreciate any donations I can graciously have. Thank you for your time and attention.
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