My students need audio books to help supplement their literacy efforts as English Language Learners.
FULLY FUNDED! Mr. Yasukawa's classroom raised $403
This project is fully funded
My Students
Being read to was probably a big part of your childhood, but it is not the case for many of my students. This project would help me add that essential element to the classroom and at home for non-native English speakers. I want to help all of my students love reading.
This is an urban 1st grade in the pacific northwest.
Our school is Title 1, which means 80% of students receive free or reduced lunch. There is a significant percentage of students who speak languages other than English at home and I work hard to celebrate this. There is no majority language; 30% speak Somali, and 22% speak "other." There are significant populations who speak Tagalog, Vietnamese, Spanish, Mandarin, and East African languages.
One of the best parts of the school is that the students do not recognize how diverse the cultural influences are. They take for granted that they speak different languages than their friends and that each person's home is different from everyone else's. With such diversity, learning to read, write, and speak in English is a shared experience.
I see my job as making this experience enjoyable and memorable. I make it engaging and challenging. I make it rewarding and rigorous. Above all, however, I make sure they are leaning in a safe space.
My Project
Each student in my class identifies her/himself as a writer and a reader, and this is no accident. Every day I work hard to explicitly teach skills that grown-up authors and readers use. I demonstrate how to engage with text, questions to ask, how to put oneself into the book. Students read independently, with a partner, in small groups, and as a class each day.
Despite this direct instruction, being able to sit and simply listen to a story can be an incredible experience. When the author is reading her/his own story, that can be even richer. We all learn so much just by hearing a story and creating an image in our mind's eye.
The families in our school community are wonderful, but the fact is that not all of them have time and resources to read to their children at home. Children could check out these books and Cd's from the classroom and listen at home. If this process catches on, I could even use its inspiration to record family members reading in their native language(s).
I include time at our audio station each day during our reading rotations.
I have been using audio-picture books from our public library, but having a core set of books would provide important continuity to the classroom as well as allow me to send some home with students who are not read to in English.
Listening to books is essential to developing one's literacy. Many students process information well when it is a mixture of visual and auditory. These books provide both.
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 Mr. Yasukawa and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
