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 am very excited to be teaching another year at my school on the southwest side of Chicago! I teach 6th grade science and reading. The students at my school are primarily from a Mexican-American background.
Despite the high cultural population my current classroom library is not really geared toward them culturally. I believe at this age students are becoming more and more aware of their cultural identity and looking for a place where they belong. As a result I would love to provide my students with more books to read where the characters have lives and experiences similar to their own.
By recommendation from a Chicago public librarian I have selected several titles by famous Hispanic authors such as Gary Soto, Sandra Cisneros, Francisco Jimenez, Malin Alegria, Victor Martinez, and Kelly Parra just to name a few. My goal was to find as many books to add to our classroom that were appropriate for middle school readers. In addition, I have requested some novels by Walter Dean Myers whose work has been shown to reach adolescent boys.
It is my hope that when students begin to read stories written by people more like them and share connections with characters that their desire to read will become more natural which will promote increased oral reading fluency. Reading quality literature will also inspire students to continue their own creative writing in the classroom.
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 Ms. Richmond and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
