I teach 7th grade social studies (US History) at low-income/ high poverty school in New York City where 99% of our students are African American or Caribbean American. I have about 100 students. Many of the students I teach have a range of disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, emotional disturbance, and specific learning disabilities. Most of my students are reading below grade level. However, all of my students want to learn and excel in school. They are excited about doing history and investigating what happened in the past.
My Project
A key component of social studies instruction is current affairs. I would like to provide every student in my class with their own copy of Junior Scholastic so that they can take this valuable resource home and share it with their family. Having Junior Scholastic in the classroom will get my students thinking about important issues affecting our society today. Not only will they discuss these issues but they will begin to examine why it matters to them.
Resources like Junior Scholastic are key to enriching student learning and engaging them in the larger world in which they live.
Articles, such as "Should the U.S. Bring Back the Draft?" directly align with the discussions we have in class and would serve to deepen students understanding of the topic. In the same issue of Junior Scholastic there is an article on the First Amendment which is key conceptual understanding in our unit on the US Constitution. Pairing Junior Scholastic's engaging and age appropriate articles with our curriculum will increase students interest and engagement in social studies.
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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 Mrs. Vasquez and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.