If you could walk into a my classroom, you would see children who struggle to use their imaginations. You'd think creativity would come second nature to ten year-olds, but something is happening to this generation. My students need this book to engage their dormant left brains before it is too late.
I have been with my 25 students for a year and a half, watching them grow from stubbornly reluctant readers to voracious consumers, devouring my limited classroom library.
My students have gone from choppy, self-conscientious, 50 words-per-minute reading to dramatic, expressive, and vivacious story-tellers. We owe it all to class novel studies. We are currently reading The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 whose author, Christopher Paul Curtis, has my class literally falling out of their chairs laughing. They love reading realistic fiction because of how easily they can connect to protagonists their age. On the gloomiest, muddiest of Mondays, all I have to say to brighten up my room is, "We're reading chapter 7 today!" Unfortunately, my students do not see literacy in their homes; their families have no leisure reading time nor materials. Thus, I model a love of children's literature so that they see how books open doors to your mind and future.
My Project
Roald Dahl is remarkably adept at drawing his audience into his setting through the plight of his characters. James, this novel's main character, is a tormented little boy. The surprising plot of this fantasy novel will allow my students to improve their inferencing skills. Dahl's work will invite much-needed and genuine inquiry into my classroom. “The principle goal of education is to create [people] who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done – [people] who are creative, inventive and discoverers” Jean Piaget, a famous developmental psychologist, wrote. It is my goal to support children by providing an education that does not reward passivity and rote memorization, but rather encourages questioning and alternatives to the obvious answer. This novel's protagonist, James, It's an extremely challenging mission, and one with which I need help. James and the Giant Peach will transport my class into a world where there is nothing obvious.
Roald Dahl, the author of this novel, once said, "I have a passion for teaching kids to become readers, to become comfortable with a book, not daunted.
Books shouldn't be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful; and learning to be a reader gives a terrific advantage." My class has already grown an average 0.8 of a year in Reading on the Northwest Evaluation Association assessment (NWEA). For our class comprehension to continue to grow, we need advantage this book will provide.
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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. Huigens and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.