I am a second, third and fourth grade special education teacher in an urban school district who is lucky enough to teach the sweetest students with the most unique brains. My students are all classified with a range of varying disabilities, but they do not let their disabilities stop them from becoming the best students they can possibly be.
My entire class comes from low income families where resources are not regularly available.
I try to provide my students with basic needs, such as food and clothes, but also try my hardest to be the best teacher and provide them with engaging and meaningful learning. I am so lucky to have such amazing students who make my job easy, even under some of the harshest conditions.
My class is very close knit, consisting of 17 of us, including myself, who love to learn and grow together, each and every day.
My Project
In my classroom, I strive to create a print-rich environment where students enjoy reading. My classroom library is one of the most comfortable and "homey" areas in my classroom, as well as one of the most visited areas in my classroom. My students love picking a good book, laying on our rug with a pillow and blanket, and spend their time independently reading. Unfortunately, my classroom library if full of books that are leveled too high for my students and they are unable to really enjoy the text of those books.
I am requesting lower level, high interest books that will allow my students to choose from a variety of books that they can independently read at their level.
My students visit our "read to self" center three times a week, as well as visit our classroom library any free moment they get (before morning meeting, finishing work early, indoor recess, etc.). My students also choose a book as a calming strategy when they begin to feel frustrated and upset. I have found my classroom library has helped tremendously reduce behaviors in our classroom due to their utilization of our reading center, and getting to pick a book of their choice to help calm themselves.
All of the books I have chosen were picked with my students in mind. I pay close attention to the books they choose during independent reading time, as well as the books they choose when we have Fun Fiction Friday! My students know that books are a great source of information, so providing books that not only interest them but that they can also read will mean the difference in my classroom. My students will continue to grow stronger in reading, as well as enrich their experiences with print-rich texts.
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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. Dailey and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
