You're on track to get doubled donations (and unlock a reward for the colleague who referred you). Keep up the great work!
Take credit for your charitable giving! Check out your tax receipts
To use your $50 gift card credits, find a project to fund and we'll automatically apply your credits at checkout. Find a classroom project
Skip to main content

Help teachers & students in your hometown this season!
Use code HOME at checkout and your donation will be matched up to $100.

Your school email address was successfully verified.

See this teacher's page

Ms. Leone from Waynesboro VA is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

Culturally Responsive and High Interest Texts for Struggling Readers

Help me give my students culturally relevant and high interest books to read. These books have characters that look like them and are on their reading levels.

  • $539 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

My Students

My students are naturally curious and excited about learning. They come from a variety of backgrounds. Some of their parents brought them to the United States so they could have a richer education. Some of my students were born in the US, but in impoverished conditions. Actually, almost all of them have that story. 100% of the students in my school qualify for free lunch, which indicates that their families live below the poverty line.

My students have many strengths.

They are creative and energetic. They make sassy and hilarious comments that surprise me and bring life to our learning environment. However, one thing my students really struggle with is reading, which is why I work with them. I am a reading specialist for students in grades 3-5. Besides delivering targeted intervention and teaching reading strategies, my main goal is to instill a love of reading for students who find the mere act of reading to be daunting and frustrating. I aim to do this by putting quality, interesting, and culturally relevant books into their hands. Once I started introducing these texts to my students, I have found them to be hungry for more.

My Project

How does one become a better reader? By reading, of course! But what if the task of reading is so daunting, frustrating, and quite frankly, boring that students avoid it? What if they are disengaged because no books that are available to them feature children who look like them? They struggle with reading and do not improve because they are either frustrated with their book options or find them all too challenging.

As a reading specialist, my greatest desire is to help students develop a love of reading.

One way to do this is to introduce them to books that are interesting, culturally relevant, and simple enough for struggling readers to enjoy. My students have started to find books that make them excited about reading, but I want to add to our collection and provide these students with more choices.

Ms. Leone
Grades 3-5

Boost your odds

Add a profile photo in addition to your classroom photo. If you add a photo, it'll show up right here on your project page.

You are more likely to receive funding if you put a face to your name.

Upload a photo

Top rated for efficiency and transparency.

You donate directly to the teacher or project you care about and see where every dollar you give goes.

Expand the "Where your donation goes" section below to see exactly what Ms. Leone is requesting.

See our finances

TEACHERS, FEELING INSPIRED?

You can start a project with the same resources being requested here!

Where Your Donation Goes

Materials Cost Quantity Total
Babymouse Paperback Collection Books 1-19 • Amazon Business $129.95 1 $129.95
The Bad Guys Box Set: Books 1-5 • Amazon Business $20.42 1 $20.42
Blackout • Amazon Business $14.39 1 $14.39
Tall Tales (BONE Prequel) • Amazon Business $12.99 1 $12.99
Booked (The Crossover Series) • Amazon Business $11.89 1 $11.89
Lu (Track) • Amazon Business $11.89 1 $11.89
Hello, Universe • Amazon Business $11.89 1 $11.89
The Crossover (The Crossover Series) • Amazon Business $11.87 1 $11.87
The Third Mushroom • Amazon Business $11.72 1 $11.72
Rose (BONE Prequel) • Amazon Business $10.50 1 $10.50
Bird & Squirrel on the Edge! • Amazon Business $9.99 1 $9.99
Sunny (Track) • Amazon Business $9.98 1 $9.98
Peanut Butter and Jelly (A Narwhal and Jelly Book #3) • Amazon Business $9.74 1 $9.74
Treasure Hunters (BONE #8) • Amazon Business $9.09 1 $9.09
Old Man's Cave (BONE #6) • Amazon Business $9.09 1 $9.09
Crown of Horns (BONE #9) • Amazon Business $9.09 1 $9.09
Bird & Squirrel On Fire (Bird & Squirrel #4) • Amazon Business $8.99 1 $8.99
The Dreamer • Amazon Business $8.99 1 $8.99
Bird & Squirrel On the Run (Bird & Squirrel #1) • Amazon Business $8.13 1 $8.13
Bird & Squirrel On the Run (Bird & Squirrel #1) • Amazon Business $8.13 1 $8.13
Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea (A Narwhal and Jelly Book #1) • Amazon Business $7.99 1 $7.99
Ghost (Track) • Amazon Business $7.99 1 $7.99
Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt (A Narwhal and Jelly Book #2) • Amazon Business $7.99 1 $7.99
Squish #7: Deadly Disease of Doom • Amazon Business $6.99 1 $6.99
Squish #8: Pod vs. Pod • Amazon Business $6.99 1 $6.99
One Crazy Summer • Amazon Business $6.99 1 $6.99
As Brave As You • Amazon Business $6.98 1 $6.98
As Brave As You • Amazon Business $6.98 1 $6.98
Esperanza Rising (McDougal Littell Library) • Amazon Business $6.29 1 $6.29
Patina (Track) • Amazon Business $6.21 1 $6.21
The Bad Guys in Do-You-Think-He-Saurus?!: Special Edition (The Bad Guys #7) • Amazon Business $5.94 1 $5.94
The Bad Guys in Alien vs Bad Guys (The Bad Guys #6) • Amazon Business $5.01 1 $5.01

Materials cost

$421.08

Vendor shipping charges

FREE

Sales tax

$0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$6.32

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$457.40

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$80.72

Total project goal

$538.12

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

$538.12

5 Donors

-$538.12

Donations toward project cost

-$457.40

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$80.72

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

$0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

View complete list Show less

Support a teacher
near you!

Explore a map with requests from teachers across the country.

View map of requests

Project Activity

{"pmaHash":"","schoolCity":"Waynesboro","showProjectRecommendations":true,"teachersOnPage":[1782682],"isTeacherViewingTheirOwnProject":false,"hideTeacherDetails":false,"schoolState":"VA","teacherPossessivePronoun":"her","PMsManager":null,"schoolGradeType":{"id":2,"name":"Elementary School"},"TeacherPMForms":{},"proposalId":3743952,"proposalMessageFormModel":null,"numActiveProjects":0,"completingDonationAmount":0,"teacherHasClassroomPhoto":true,"proposalURL":"https://www.donorschoose.org/project/culturally-responsive-and-high-interest/3743952/","verifyShowPhotos":"","eligibleToBeCopied":false,"mayHaveReplacements":false,"numStudents":37,"teacherScreenName":"Ms. Leone","isEquityFocus":true,"authorIds":{"1782682":{"owner":"Ms. Leone","donationSalutations":{}}},"displayedPercentFunded":1.0,"proposalsOnPage":[3743952],"proposalHash":"-1900190155","isApplePayMobileOnly":true,"progressBarPercentage":100.00,"pmaId":"","teacherProfilePhotoURL":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp1782682_272x272.jpg?width=136&height=136&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1541268641874","teacherHasProfilePhoto":true,"currentWorkflowStatusCode":21,"teacherChallengeId":294463,"photosPublished":true,"queryString":"","DonorPMForm":null,"isApplePayEnabled":true,"fundedByTarget":false,"activeProject":null,"donorIdsForImpactPhotoCheck":["MTg1Mjg2NQ==","MjUyNTU1","MTc4MjY4Mg==","MjUzMTMxOQ==","NjAzOTA5Mg=="],"teacherId":1782682,"schoolCounty":"Waynesboro City","fullyFunded":true,"isStudentLed":false,"isExpired":true,"schoolStateObj":{"code":"VA","name":"Virginia"}}