The cost of 60 gift cards to Barnes & Noble is $772, including shipping and <a target="new" href="http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm" onclick="g_openWindow('http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm', 300, 800, 'fulfillwindow');return false;">fulfillment</a>.
I am a Literacy teacher at a Middle School in a low-income Washington Heights community. My seventh-graders have developed a broad passion for independent reading this year. They are frequently spotted reading their books in the cafeteria during lunch, while waiting for the class in the hallway and at home while their siblings watch T.V. They have been struck by the reading bug and they love it!
About 90% of my students have recently immigrated to the United States. Primarily, they come from Spanish-speaking homes. All of my students qualify for the city's free lunch program. The parents of my seventh-graders have frequently asked me where they can take their children to buy books. Although my students borrow books from our classroom library at will, many have asked me where and how a person obtains books that they want to read in the real world. I have pointed many towards the public library but I want my students to have the incredibly satisfying experience of becoming book owners by selecting and purchasing a book at a bookstore. Very few of my students have heard of booksellers such as Barnes and Noble or Borders and they do not know where they are located in the city. I feel that in order for my bright, enthusiastic class of seventh graders to be competitive with children on a national scale, they must have basic experience with shopping for and buying books. They must know where to select and purchase books of their choosing and they must know how to locate a specific book in a large bookstore.
I would like, with your generous support, to provide this experience to my class. My dream is to take each of my 60 "literary scholars" to a major bookstore in New York City and allow each student to select and purchase a few books of their choice. Prior to our visit, we would discuss proper decorum in a bookstore and discuss browsing and bookstore layout. We would also discuss protocol for making a purchase at a cashier, checking the receipt, etc. Our bookstore training would culminate in our book-buying trip! I know my students would be thrilled with this experience and would love the idea of owning their own book. This is an experience many of us take for granted, but it would be a momentous occasion in the lives of my students and would help to further their future as readers!
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