The students in my first grade class are interested in sharks, puzzles, making friends, STEAM, and superheroes. They want to succeed even though there are many forces in this country that fight against their efforts. They speak Spanish, Tigrinya, Somali, Finish, Khmer, Cambodian, Mandarin, Tagalog, and English. My students are inquisitive, hilarious, honest, and ambitious people. Two out of three are living in poverty and every single student has so much drive to learn. Our dual-language program supports native Spanish-speakers along with those with a desire to learn Spanish. With a wonderful diversity of interests and challenges, our school works hard to know each student's name and need.
My Project
Every day my students have many opportunities to practice their reading skills. One way that I encourage early readers to get excited about reading is to provide "big books" to choose from. When I started teaching in our room I was overjoyed to find a classroom library already assembled. However, because many students have been able to enjoy them, many of our
"big books" are ripped or have completely fallen apart.
My students deserve access to diverse, quality "big books" that will inspire these young learners to build their skills.
Every student, no matter the ability level, is thrilled whenever they see classics like these! All of these books feature repetition, amusing characters, and relatable story structures: everything needed to build reading confidence and stamina. For students who are still working on identifying letters and connecting letters to sounds, larger print gives a different way to practice these skills.
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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. Gabzdyl and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.