Seven out of 10 students in the Bronx drop out of school before graduating from high school. One of the key reasons why they are not succeeding is because of struggles with reading. Most of my students are reading 2 or 3 years below grade level. As a History teacher, I need to help change that.
I teach 8th graders in an urban school in New York.
The student body is about 50 percent black and 50 percent Hispanic. Ninety-eight percent of the students in our school are on free or reduced lunches. Beyond the regular traumas associated with middle school, many of my students have had to contend with situations of crime, gang violence, homelessness, and drug abuse.
My Project
The Children of the Dust Bowl tells the story of America in the 1930s. After first detailing the desperation of the life of farmers in the Midwest, it follows them on their trek across the western United States to the promise of work in California. After providing this thorough, sympathetic context of their plight, it focuses on the residents of Weedpatch Camp, one of several farm-labor camps built by the federal government.
My students will be able to take this book home with them and read it at night for homework during our unit on the Great Depression. They will have questions to answer each week that are designed to guide them through comprehension and critical thinking. Through compelling stories and vivid descriptions, this book will help my students gain a much richer understanding of the impact of the Great Depression on ordinary Americans.
Exposure to books is something we took for granted during our school years.
Reading about another person's life helps students imagine a life beyond what they have experienced. My students are not able to take home textbooks or reading books owned by the school. Through this project I'm hoping to enrich the history curriculum, broaden their background knowledge, and hopefully instill a love of reading. Putting a book in the hands of a child may not solve everything, but it's a start.
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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. Davlin and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.