This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
My students are incredible! My students are in kindergarten, first, second, third, fourth, and fifth grade. They are curious, inquisitive, hard-working, and dedicated. All of my students have Individualized Educational Plans, because they have been diagnosed with disabilities. All of my students receive free breakfast and lunch at school. They come from high poverty areas, and they all love coming to school. My students are brilliant individuals who learn differently than their peers. These students will be successful, and it's my job to create learning opportunities that ensure this.
My Project
I was recently at a professional development where these book titles were shared as engaging and effective resources to use for social-emotional learning. The facilitator shared lesson plans for each title but didn't have the funding to give us any of the books. I want to do this work with my students and getting these books helps me do that. Research shows that SEL not only improves achievement by an average of 11 percentile points, but it also increases prosocial behaviors (such as kindness, sharing, and empathy), improves student attitudes toward school, and reduces depression and stress among students (Durlak et al., 2011). Effective social and emotional learning programming involves coordinated classroom, school-wide, family, and community practices that help students develop the following: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making.
Students are more successful in school and daily life when they know and can manage themselves, understand the perspectives of others and relate effectively with them, and make sound choices about personal and social decisions.
Access to these books will help me do this important and meaningful work with my students! These titles will help me help students personally develop these five areas. I will also be able to use these texts to guide their families as well.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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. Kearney (Struckel) and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
