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Mrs. Wnek from Chicago IL is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

Classroom Library: Improving Reading in An Urban Classroom

My students need a classroom bookcase and 23 books.

  • $549 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Celebrate Black Teachers and Students

This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.

Please help first-generation college-bound, low income minority students obtain a classroom library. My school is a public vocational high school located in the inner city. I teach freshman English at a school where most of the students are low-income, with many coming from broken homes or who are classified as "homeless."

Currently, my 9th grade students are reading at a 5th/6th grade level and many have never opened a book with the purpose of reading for pleasure or enrichment. Furthermore, I only have a handful of dictionaries for classes of 30 students to share. Our school library is greatly lacking and is only open during certain school hours, never before or after school. This is problematic, because my students cannot do research for required assignments and have limited access to books just for the sake of reading. Finally, it is especially difficult to engage my male students in reading and I hope that by building a classroom library catering to the needs and the interests of my students, I can help them become lifelong readers.

This is the first year I have had my own classroom and even though it is small and cramped, I have done my best to make it neat, warm, inviting, and safe. There is space for a small bookshelf near my desk and I hope to have it filled with a broad selection of books for students to check out and take home for their enjoyment. These books will also be utilized for in-class silent sustained reading, extra credit book reports/reviews that will then be presented to the rest of the class, and a literature circles unit at the end of the school year.

With your help, my students will have the opportunity to learn the value of books and becoming lifelong readers. You can help my students improve their reading fluency and comprehension skills, and you can help me to prepare them for college, which many of my students desire to attend. With a classroom library, my freshmen will be able to move forward with their education and learn skills that will prepare them for the rest of their high school career and beyond. Please help!!!

Mrs. Wnek
Grades 9-12

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TEACHERS, FEELING INSPIRED?

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Where Your Donation Goes

Materials Cost Quantity Total
BOOKCASE,30",2 SHLF,MOK -- Alera Radius Corner Bookcase in Medium Oak Finish; 2-Shelves • Quill $174.99 1 $174.99
100 Words Every High School Freshman Should Know Editors of The American Heritage Dictionaries (Editor), Manufactured by Houghton Mifflin Company • Barnes and Noble $5.35 1 $5.35
Webster's New Explorer Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms Created in Cooperation with the Editors • Barnes and Noble $8.98 1 $8.98
Dictionary of High School B.S.: From Acne to Varsity, All the Funny, Lame, and Annoying Aspects of High School Life Lois Beckwith • Barnes and Noble $9.85 1 $9.85
First Part Last Angela Johnson • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
Breathing Underwater Alex Flinn • Barnes and Noble $7.19 1 $7.19
Dreamland Sarah Dessen • Barnes and Noble $3.98 1 $3.98
Identical Ellen Hopkins • Barnes and Noble $10.79 1 $10.79
Fever 1793 Laurie Halse Anderson, Lori Earley • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
Sold Patricia McCormick • Barnes and Noble $7.19 1 $7.19
Hush, Hush Becca Fitzpatrick • Barnes and Noble $11.69 1 $11.69
Contender Robert Lipsyte • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
November Blues Sharon M. Draper • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
Gym Candy Carl Deuker • Barnes and Noble $7.19 1 $7.19
Knights of the Hill Country Tim Tharp • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
Black and White Paul Volponi • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
The Help Kathryn Stockett • Barnes and Noble $14.97 1 $14.97
Push Sapphire, Ramona Lofton • Barnes and Noble $10.40 1 $10.40
Midnight: A Gangster Love Story Sister Souljah • Barnes and Noble $10.40 1 $10.40
Barron's Dictionary and Thesaurus Robert Allen (Editor) • Barnes and Noble $13.49 1 $13.49
Merriam-Webster's Intermediate Dictionary Inc. Merriam-Webster • Barnes and Noble $14.36 1 $14.36
Twisted Laurie Halse Anderson • Barnes and Noble $7.99 1 $7.99
Early African American Classics (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) Barnes & Noble • Barnes and Noble $24.95 1 $24.95
How to Read a Book Mortimer J. Adler, Charles Van Doren • Barnes and Noble $13.59 1 $13.59

Materials cost

$395.09

Vendor shipping charges

$39.51

Sales tax

$0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$5.93

Fulfillment labor & materials

$9.00

Total project cost

$449.56

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$98.68

Total project goal

$548.24

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

$548.24

1 Donor

-$274.12

Donations toward project cost

-$224.78

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$49.34

match offer

-$274.12

Match offer toward project cost

-$224.78

Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$49.34

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

$0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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Project Activity

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