I teach in a Title I school which means that a majority of my students come from low-income families. Half of our students are open enrolled which means the school receives less funding from the state for their seats. While there is some variance year to year, I typically teach mostly juniors and freshmen. Every year juniors take the ACT exam - which is an incredibly important exam.
Even though they face many challenges, my students can succeed.
With the right opportunities and resources made available to them, I believe they will advance!
My Project
I plan to use these books to continue to build my classroom library. In my classroom, independent reading takes place all year long. For this reason, it is important that I secure high interest reading materials from a variety of genres and for varied reading levels.
I try to inspire students to discover (or rediscover) a love for reading by matching them with a book they enjoy.
I definitely think of it as a match-making process and I know that once a student finds a book (or series; or author; or genre) they enjoy, they'll continue reading on their own.
In my classroom independent reading is facilitated in a variety of ways. Sometimes there is an assessment or work associated with their reading and other times it is for pure enjoyment. Some research suggests that offering reading in a variety of formats leads to broader success in the classroom. All in all, though, I hope that my students achieve what renowned English teacher and speaker, Kelly Gallagher, calls "reading flow." Reading flow is what happens when a reader is so immersed in a book that the time passes without said reader even noticing; this is what seasoned readers experience all the time. Beyond the grading, assessments, and checklists, I want my students to experience reading flow!
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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. Ranchel and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.