Books 4 My Eyes, Too!

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

Dear Donor, I am a fifth grade teacher in an area that is often called "low-income." While I try not to consider money or financial status a factor in elementary education, the truth is, it is a factor. Because many of our students come from poor home environments, their experiences are the places they can visit on the television. In North Carolina, we have standardized testing. Often times, the test coordinators do not consider that many students find it difficult to relate and connect to a reading selection involving an escalator if they have never been to a mall that has one. Classroom teachers know that there is very little we can do to change the process of testing. However, we can provide the best lessons possible to allow our students to have experiences. We must be able to take our students on field trips, or get them places through books. As an accomplished and educated person yourself, you are aware of the power of reading. It widens vocabulary, provides experiences, and heightens the ability to imagine. I cannot always take my kids on trips; however, I can provide experiences through books. Our school has done a fabulous job of acquiring a library. One thing we lack, however, is class sets of novels. My request would be for classroom sets of novels and even nonfiction books to inspire future doctors, teachers, zoologists, policemen, etc. What my students get in their home environment is not enough, they need and deserve so much more. With class sets, students are able to see the words in front of them as a teacher reads aloud, teachers can send home these texts for out of class assignments, and not to mention the more books a student touches the more powerful they become with each page they turn. I plan regularly with the other teachers on my grade level and would be willing to share this collection with them. We average 24 students per room. Some appropriate titles are: James and the Giant Peach Mr. Popper's Penguins Muggie Maggie Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You, but only if you let it! Snow Treasure Frindle Holes These are just a few of the books. Anything that can be offered would be greatly appreciated and greatly used for many school years to come. Many large cities even have used book station houses. Our city, unfortunately, does not. I hope that if a donor reads this request and was an avid reader as a child, you'll grasp the memory of your reading happiness and find a way to help us out! Thanks for all you do, whatever you do, to change the world!