"We are not taught to be thinkers, but reflectors of our culture. Let's teach our children to be thinkers." ~Jacque Fresco
As first grade readers open up a nonfiction book, we are providing our students the opportunity to become great thinkers as they read about the world around them.
In first grade, our students are just learning to read and enjoy reading.
They love learning about new things, especially things that they can relate to. Nonfiction books provide each reader an opportunity to make text-to-self connections about what they read in a book to their own lives. Our school is full of diverse learners. With 1 in 4 families descending from a different country, our school caters to children who speak multiple languages, come from diverse cultures, and who have many unique experiences to bring into a classroom. Nonfiction books are about the world around us. They are designed to teach each child, no matter their heritage, about the different components that make up our universe. Even a diverse learner can connect with a nonfiction book and have their eyes open to learning about the universal language of science.
My Project
As part of the North Carolina Common Core and Essential Standards, each first grade student is expected to complete 30 minutes of self-selected reading time each day. During this time, students are actively engaged in reading books that are appropriate to their guided reading level. They are also expected to read a wide range of genres and text complexity during this time. Nonfiction books meet each of these standards and will make a great addition to my classroom library.
My students will be exposed to multiple nonfiction books that will allow them to explore a wide range of text. These books will provide them the opportunity to learn about different plants, animals, earth sciences, and weather. Having a variety of nonfiction texts will allow our students to be thinkers about the world around them, ask thought-provoking questions, and identify nonfiction text features that will help them effectively comprehend the text.
Donations to my project will greatly impact my classroom by providing multiple nonfiction books for my first grade readers.
My students will have the opportunity to choose from many different books to read that are on their specific reading level and are appropriate to their individual reading ability.
Nonfiction books will change my students' lives for the better by introducing them to books about real life topics that they can relate to and learn about. This will create thinkers and learners.
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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. Holmes and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
