Be the Help We Need to read The Help in Book Clubs!
My students need 22 copies of the historically engaging novel, The Help.
FULLY FUNDED! Ms. Spitz's classroom raised $359
This project is fully funded
My Students
I'm on a mission: a mission to create a history class that is rich with perspective, inquiry and engagement. I too often see my high school students quick to label the subject "old," "boring," and completely insignificant to their own world and to their own lives.
My students are bright, imaginative, and inquisitive.
Each day I see countless examples of their love for learning and genuine desire to be challenged and inspired. As a music and arts school, we pride ourselves on the levels of creativity and individuality embraced by our students inside and outside the classroom walls.
My students are predominantly African-American and Latino, and they come from some of the most violent and impoverished neighborhoods in our state. They are exceptionally brave in expressing themselves and communicating an idea, yet many of them struggle when it comes to broaching written text.
Many of my students were not exposed to reading on a consistent basis during crucial years of their formative development and as such, many need intensive work to repair literacy deficits stemming from their early years. In my 11th grade classroom, my students' reading levels range from 3rd grade to college level, with an average reading level at around the 7th grade.
My Project
As a history teacher, I am constantly seeking avenues to further engage my students in the contextual elements of our class. Equally as important, I am always searching for ways to continue to build the literacy skills of my students so that they are equipped for success inside and outside the academic realms. To do so, my students need to feel invested in their work, and they need to feel their work is invested in them.
My students deserve more than a simple fact sheet to understand history and the human experience. As such, I have requested a class set of the novel "The Help" to use in our class book clubs for our unit on the Civil Rights Movement and the American identity. Providing my students with books rich with human emotion and connections will open the door towards learning patterns that will help them become stronger readers and writers. Ultimately, these reading experiences will help my students navigate our already complex world with an empowered perspective.
Book clubs are a fantastic way to engage and challenge the wide range of readers in my classroom and push my students toward a deeper understanding and personal connection to history and the written word.
Such skills will prove priceless in ensuring their success for state exams, graduation, college and beyond. I strongly believe that if given a book that fits, all of my students have the capacity to approach learning with the voracity and courage they so strongly possess and desire.
More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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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. Spitz and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
