Digging Deep: Holes and Interdisciplinary Learning
Help me give my students books (Holes) that paint a vivid picture of kindness, perseverance, and friendship, while exploring concepts like hydrology, race, and justice.
Our fifth graders are rambunctious and ready to learn! Their goals at school are to be kind, have fun, and work hard, and we love to explore and extend ideas through reading, writing, science, math, and social studies. As we plan for the 20-21 school year, we aim to help our students see how all their learning connects. Every discipline helps us see part of the world around us, and different students understand, respond, and create in different ways. They get excited when we teach concepts and skills in conjunction with interesting texts and projects. They get motivated!
These kiddos love reading along with us as we read aloud--they are most engaged when they can both see and hear the story, as their teacher brings it alive with a bit of dramatic "audio book" flair.
Then, having the text in front of them helps them practice skills that they need to be expert readers and independent learners. Most don't have a lot of books at home, so school is where they get to discover and delight in good stories and thoughtful literature. That's where you can help!
My Project
Our goal is to get a copy of this book, Holes, into each students' hands so that the stories can provide a framework out of which they can ask questions about the world.
Providing a copy of Holes for every 5th grader in our school will allow my team up to deliver an interdisciplinary unit that explores migration, justice, hydrology, race, & responsibility.
This text--the protagonists being kids themselves--connects to our students' experiences, engaging their curiosity and desire for justice in ways that open up discussion and problem solving across and beyond traditional content in the classroom.
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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. Heinrich and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
