Creating a Spark: Getting Reluctant Readers Back in the Game
My students need new ways to engage with books and/or authors, like an audio station and a webcam that plays two roles: author conferencing & document camera for read-alongs.
Know that feeling you get when you open a book and step into a new world? That world doesn't exist for many of my students. They don't have favorite authors or books. They struggle to read books at grade level, & many books they can read seem baby-ish. They need new ways to get into a book!
My students are struggling readers attending a suburban high school in Illinois that is famous for strong test scores and famous graduates.
This means their academic struggles are often overlooked. Many are minorities in a mostly Caucasian district.
My Project
The materials I'm hoping to receive for my students would give them two new ways of engaging with books and authors. The first is through audio listening - I'm requesting an audio pod and some headphone splitters to make it easier for students to access my large selection of books on audio CD and MP3. The second is a webcam that will allow me to do *two* great things for very little money - I can use the webcam to set up author conferences so that my students can video chat with their favorite authors. These days, this is very popular and is much cheaper than finding money to pay for author visits. The same webcam can be mounted on the mic stand and gooseneck to create a low-cost document camera. This would let me do read-alongs on the overhead screen. I can model fluent reading and hold the attention of my students while talking about characters and plot. It will also let me show student samples of writing so that students can learn from their peers.
Most of my students like school, but they struggle to read at grade level and they know they are behind.
Many have been in remedial reading programs since they were little. They want to succeed and most mention college as their future goal. They need books and a new way of engaging with books in order to achieve their goals. This project, if funded, would give my students two great ways to enter that wonderful world where books come alive, favorite authors are read, & reading skills are high!
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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. Gilbertsen and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.