This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
I teach fifth grade at an elementary school Fresno, California. Our school is so poor that 99% of students qualify for free lunch. It doesn't get much worse than that. This is an urban school in the midst of an agricultural valley.
I have thirty-three students. This year I have a forest theme in my classroom--not rain forest, but temperate forest. The kids love it. Our motto is "Mighty oaks from little acorns grow." Aside from the state ed standards, I teach my students about heroes and moral courage. I have a poster of the Tank Man beside my "Character Counts" posters the school requires in every classroom.
About half of my 33 students are Southeast Asian, the children of refugees from Cambodia and Laos, and about half of them are Hmong. The Hmong people were farmers forced to flee their mountain homeland in Laos as a result of having helped the American forces and rescuing US downed pilots during the Vietnam era. Other students at our school are children of farm workers and of families of generational poverty.
My students are bright, serious students. They are English learners who need to acquire English vocabulary, to practice reading, and to learn thinking and comprehension skills. Our school has a few class sets of good books I could use, but nowhere near enough to go around to the various classes. Some of the sets are in very poor condition. They are tattered, yellowed, brittle, and literally falling apart.
We need materials to read. In the past, I have had success using class sets of quality literature books kids like, reading them all together, and talking and thinking about the books as we go. We stop and talk about the vocabulary, I model thinking skills at first, we read between the lines together, and it works well. Other classes could borrow the materials. We have at least four other classes that could use these, too.
Wringer, the book I have requested, is about a boy who experiences powerful pressure to conform to customs he senses are morally wrong. In addition to teaching language skills, Wringer has a message about moral courage and individuality. I think that moral courage is a very important lesson to teach our future American citizens. My students would also benefit greatly from reading practice, learning thinking skills, and English vocabulary. They need this, and it will make them better citizens as adults.
Nearly all 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 Mrs. Brennan and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
