My students need these copies of Beowulf, The Scarlet Letter, and Grendal to round out classroom sets. Over the years, the copies we presently use have become worn and literally fall apart in the students' hands.
My students attend a Title I school in an extremely small town. Most of their parents did not have the opportunity to attend college, and my students are learning that they do have opportunities to extend their education past high school. It is a foreign concept to many.
The highlight for the town is Friday night football; there is little else to do that doesn't involve illegal activities.
Students are limited in their knowledge of the world outside the small town; whereas some have the opportunity to travel, most do not.
Students are curious to learn about cultures, their own as well as others. Their knowledge is limited, but we listen to newscasts and read magazine and newspaper articles to help understand our global world. The last time my classroom received new textbooks was about ten years ago; resources such as DonorsChoose.org are the only method we have to receive new literature and other classroom supplies. Students in the past have been stunned when they would read books that were donated. They found it hard to believe that 'people they didn't even know' would donate to help them.
My Project
I teach high school English to two sections of seniors and three sections of juniors. There is a tremendous benefit to teaching the same literature to both levels at the same time. Many of their classes are made of different students from my three classes. I have learned that teaching the same book becomes a class-wide read. For example, the chemistry teacher found me once to inform me that one of my students was explaining Beowulf before her class. The books I am requesting here, additional copies of Beowulf, The Scarlet Letter, and Grendal, will give me enough of these titles to teach the sections simultaneously, thus adding a peer-conference and review component that cannot be obtained by teaching each class in isolation.
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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. Lewis and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
