My students are on their way to being lifelong readers! They have all told me about at least one book from their elementary or middle school years that they loved, so I know that it's not too late to teach them to continue to love reading!
I teach a class of students who enter high school at a below-grade reading level, and the goal is to catch them up in the ninth grade.
At this point, most of them have said that they don't like to read because they feel like "bad readers." They are tired of feeling like they can't understand stories like other students can. So my goal is to create a positive reading environment in my classroom where I can teach them the skills they need to feel like successful readers.
One challenge we face in this class is that we don't have class sets of books at an appropriate reading level for the students. I want to help them develop their independent reading skills, but I would really like to have books at their level in order for them to practice with.
My Project
I've asked for three sets of books: Hoops by Walter Dean Myers, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, and Matter of Trust by Anne Schraff.
Before writing this project, I compiled a list of classroom-appropriate literature that was written at my students' reading level. I then pitched the books to the class and let them vote on the ones that they wanted to read. The top three winners are the books here that I've requested. These books are not only appropriate for teaching reading skills, but they also tell stories of teens from diverse backgrounds that my students will be able to relate to. Since these books are ones that they decided on as a class, I think they will be especially excited about reading them.
My students are wonderful kids who want to be successful, and I believe that helping them become better readers will allow them to reach that success in my class and in every other class they take.
I think that I can most effectively help them build reading skills by providing literature that is at their reading level and that tells inspiring stories of teens they can relate with. Please help my students become successful, lifelong readers.
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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. Burt and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.