My students are excited about this school year because they believe that this is the year they will make a difference in their reading abilities. They are struggling readers for various reasons, but they refuse to give in! They are learning important strategies for reading informational texts.
I teach in a school where the poverty index is around 90%.
However, the students do not accept poverty as an excuse for poor performance. Instead, they understand that education will be the only path out of poverty. Having life experiences and background knowledge about topics is vital to reading comprehension. Unfortunately, students living in high poverty have limited amounts of both. Many of them also lack access to reading materials at home.
My ELA students are struggling readers. Many of them are English language learners and some have learning differences. They are excited about reading this year because they are learning strategies to make tackling informational text easier. I am currently working with our science teachers to help the students learn to conduct research by reading up on their selected animals so they can create a presentation for science class that will meet sixth grade ELA and science standards. Classroom magazines will help so much!
My Project
SuperScience and Scholastic News classroom magazines will help my students apply the knowledge from our text features mini lessons. They are currently learning about headings, captions, and side bars, as well as other features.
Having a magazine in the hands of each student will allow me to give them vital learning experiences on a broad range of topics, as well as offering real-world reading. They absolutely love reading about animals they are unfamiliar with. For example, many of them are interested in ocean life because they have never been to the beach. Others are interested in kids who make a difference in their world. How-to articles will help them learn to follow written directions. The possibilities are endless!
I want my children to continue to be excited about reading.
Having magazines that look like what they see grown-ups reading will help them to hold on to that excitement. Reading about the world around them will help them make connections, and ultimately help them make informed decisions. The more they read, the better they will read. Please help us reach our goal of growing stronger 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 Mrs. Smith and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
