My 7th and 8th grade students from rural Texas have always known the act of reading as being tied to some sort of test. As a result, many of my bright, witty, funny, kind students have come to see reading as a means of achieving a grade and not as a way to see themselves reflected in good literature.
Unfortunately, many of my students have lost touch with the magic, transporting power of books.
They are navigating those strange years of being in the middle—not children anymore, but not yet adults. This makes it tricky for me to find books that are at a good readability level for them, but that also contain subject matter that is relevant without being too mature. Also, the distractions of adolescent-hood mean I have to work harder to ensure that my students see reading as something worth their time.
My Project
Right now, my classroom library consists of one small shelf with books funded by myself. About 99% of these books are fictional. Year after year, I watch my many struggling readers express their disinterest in reading; finally, a student told me he didn't like reading because it was "too many words on a page" and all "fake" content. I realized then that I wasn't doing enough as a teacher to provide my students with options when it came to the books they were "allowed" to read. I stuck mainly with fiction books because they were most likely tested books (for which students earned a grade). I wasn't exposing them to books from other formats and genres. Graphic novels, informational texts, and narrative nonfiction texts were extremely underrepresented in my classroom library, even though these are often high-interest texts to many students who are tired of fiction.
If I want to create a true culture of reading in my classroom, I need to be able to surround my students with books of all different types to meet them at their interest and reading levels.
I can completely understand why many of my students have lost touch with reading. This school year, the only grade I'll associate with free-choice reading is a book commercial for which students must advertise a great book to their peers! Also, they'll have at least ten minutes to read every day. I want to remind my students how much fun reading can be. If I can't get them interested in reading, they'll not get the reading practice they need, and in turn, won't benefit from the countless educational opportunities that being an avid reader offers: increased vocabulary, grammar skills, fluency, comprehension—the list is endless, and a high-interest classroom library is the first step to achieving this goal.
Jason Reynolds's Track Series: Ghost; Patina; Sunny; Lu
• Amazon Business
$40.59
1
$40.59
Chernobyl's Wild Kingdom: Life in the Dead Zone
• Amazon Business
$31.33
1
$31.33
The Girl from the Tar Paper School: Barbara Rose Johns and the Advent of the Civil Rights Movement
• Amazon Business
$18.95
1
$18.95
The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler
• Amazon Business
$18.67
1
$18.67
The Marvels
• Amazon Business
$18.39
1
$18.39
Stella by Starlight
• Amazon Business
$17.22
1
$17.22
Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way)
• Amazon Business
$17.07
1
$17.07
Poop Detectives: Working Dogs in the Field
• Amazon Business
$17.05
1
$17.05
Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust (Booklist Editor's Choice. Books for Youth (Awards))
• Amazon Business
$16.94
1
$16.94
Wonderstruck (Schneider Family Book Award - Middle School Winner)
• Amazon Business
$16.89
1
$16.89
Code of Honor
• Amazon Business
$16.78
1
$16.78
The Ultimate Book of Sharks (National Geographic Kids)
• Amazon Business
$16.23
1
$16.23
Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor's Story
• Amazon Business
$16.22
1
$16.22
Nimona
• Amazon Business
$15.98
1
$15.98
Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science
• Amazon Business
$15.90
1
$15.90
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Young Readers Edition
• Amazon Business
$15.19
1
$15.19
As Brave As You (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers)
• Amazon Business
$14.96
1
$14.96
Big Top Burning: The True Story of an Arsonist, a Missing Girl, and The Greatest Show On Earth
• Amazon Business
$14.73
1
$14.73
I Never Saw Another Butterfly: Children's Drawings and Poems from the Terezin Concentration Camp, 1942-1944
• Amazon Business
$14.57
1
$14.57
Lost in the Pacific, 1942: Not a Drop to Drink (Lost #1) (1)
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$13.89
1
$13.89
Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson
• Amazon Business
$13.69
1
$13.69
When You Reach Me
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$13.64
1
$13.64
Hidden Figures Young Readers' Edition
• Amazon Business
$13.60
1
$13.60
Throw Like a Girl: How to Dream Big & Believe in Yourself
• Amazon Business
$13.56
1
$13.56
Grenade
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$13.49
1
$13.49
The Great White Shark Scientist (Scientists in the Field Series)
• Amazon Business
$13.29
1
$13.29
White Rose
• Amazon Business
$12.77
1
$12.77
Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95 (Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Honor (Awards))
• Amazon Business
$12.75
1
$12.75
The Tornado Scientist (Scientists in the Field Series)
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$12.72
1
$12.72
A Night Divided
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$12.60
1
$12.60
Poe: Stories and Poems: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Gareth Hinds
• Amazon Business
$12.44
1
$12.44
Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team
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$12.19
1
$12.19
The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life
• Amazon Business
$12.15
1
$12.15
Lost in Outer Space: The Incredible Journey of Apollo 13 (Lost #2)
• Amazon Business
$12.00
1
$12.00
The Enemy Above: A Novel of World War II
• Amazon Business
$11.89
1
$11.89
Explore Titanic: Breathtaking New Pictures, Recreated with Digital Technology
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$11.87
1
$11.87
882 1/2 Amazing Answers to Your Questions About the Titanic
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$11.70
1
$11.70
Never Caught, the Story of Ona Judge: George and Martha Washington's Courageous Slave Who Dared to Run Away; Young Readers Edition
• Amazon Business
$11.01
1
$11.01
The Boys in the Boat (Young Readers Adaptation): The True Story of an American Team's Epic Journey to Win Gold at the 1936 Olympics
• Amazon Business
$10.83
1
$10.83
Alexander Hamilton: The Making of America
• Amazon Business
$10.50
1
$10.50
Goodbye Stranger (Boston Globe-Horn Book Honors (Awards))
• Amazon Business
$9.48
1
$9.48
The Crossover (The Crossover Series)
• Amazon Business
$9.39
1
$9.39
Stronger Than Steel: Spider Silk DNA and the Quest for Better Bulletproof Vests, Sutures, and Parachute Rope (Scientists in the Field Series)
• Amazon Business
$9.12
1
$9.12
Anne of Green Gables: A Graphic Novel
• Amazon Business
$9.10
1
$9.10
Candy Bomber: The Story of the Berlin Airlift's "Chocolate Pilot"
• Amazon Business
$7.96
1
$7.96
Lost in the Amazon (Lost #3): A Battle for Survival in the Heart of the Rainforest
• Amazon Business
$7.59
1
$7.59
Rising Above: How 11 Athletes Overcame Challenges in Their Youth to Become Stars
• Amazon Business
$7.01
1
$7.01
Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon
• Amazon Business
$6.95
1
$6.95
The Scourge
• Amazon Business
$6.44
1
$6.44
Titanic: Young Survivors (10 True Tales) (Ten True Tales)
• Amazon Business
$5.69
1
$5.69
Materials cost
$694.97
Vendor shipping charges
FREE
Sales tax
$0.00
3rd party payment processing fee
$10.42
Fulfillment labor & materials
$30.00
Total project cost
$735.39
Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
$129.77
Total project goal
$865.16
How we calculate what's needed
Total project goal
$865.16
2 Donors
-$865.16
Donations toward project cost
-$735.39
Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
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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. Wright and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
