This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
Imagine excited and dedicated students preparing for competition, only they aren't running drills or reviewing plays. They are quizzing each other and taking notes from books. They are members of our reading bowl team, preparing for the Helen Ruffin Reading Quiz Bowl, a state-wide competition.
The students on our reading bowl team are dedicated users of the library and have a passion for reading.
They enjoy discussing books and sharing their favorite authors. Members are chosen from a middle school of 794 children, including 73% Black, 21% Hispanic, and, 4% Asian, Multi-racial or Caucasians. Special needs students make up 13% of our students and 15% of the students speak a language other than English. According to end of grade test scores in the spring, almost 75% of our students are not proficient in Language Arts skills, which include skills such as comprehension and reading for meaning. In addition, 45% of our eighth grade students read below grade level. The families in our community have an average income of less than $50,000. Our school is a Title I school, with over 95% of our students qualifying for free meals.
My Project
The members of last year's reading bowl team were sixth grade students, who won at the elementary school level. They did well and placed fourth in their middle school level competition, however they learned a very important lesson. In order to win a first or second place trophy next year, they will need to take detailed notes and study a whole lot more.
These books will give them the copies they need to begin reading and studying over the summer.
Reading during the break will also reduce the loss of reading skills generally seen in the summertime. They will return to school in August with a head start on the competition and their reading skills! In addition, the students will present book talks on our morning news show to promote reading in our school.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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. Goff and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
