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Ms. Gardner from San Jose, CA is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

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Fully Funded

Ms. Gardner's classroom raised $528

Don't Know Much About History

My students need 51 biographies about every US president and many influential thinkers and inventors.

Ms. Gardner Russo - McEntee Academy

San Jose, CA Grades 3-5

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

As a young teacher in a low-income, high-needs district in California, I am fortunate enough to be teaching my 30 brilliant and determined fifth graders for the third year in a row. I have looped with them since the third grade, and they are a tightly-knit, hardworking group.

Unfortunately, our school is strapped for resources of all kinds, and books are one of my students greatest needs. My students have had the opportunity to pilot a program where they get to read whole books at their level, instead of short excerpts that do not challenge their analytical thinking skills. However, our school hardly has any nonfiction books for them to read at their individual levels. As fifth graders, my students have become fascinated with American history and world geography, and we need more books that will feed their interest. Students need to read nonfiction to prepare themselves for middle school textbooks and beyond. They need to learn to identify nonfiction conventions in their reading, by being given books at their individual levels. If they are able to feel successful reading nonfiction books now, they will not feel intimidated by this genre as they move on in school. Also, I believe that every student should have the benefit to read about the men and women who have contributed so much to our lives.

Biographies will increase student engagement, improve class discussion, and foster critical thinking. The class will have the opportunity to read about numerous important men and women, and will be inspired by the stories they read. They will be able to have a wide variety of nonfiction books to read, which they desperately need. These books will add greatly to our class, and will help my students make significant scholastic gains. I have selected many fascinating biographies, which also teach valuable life lessons and explain our country’s history. These biographies will be important for my students because, a student's ability to read affects their performance in all other subject areas. Students will also be more successful on their standardized tests because of their practice with higher-level thinking skills that they have gained through reading nonfiction texts.

Your help will ensure that my students become life-long readers who can critically analyze what they read. You will be introducing them to everyone from George Washington to Marie Curie. Your help will be bringing nonfiction biographies to the fingertips of every student in my classroom. You will help them become "real" readers, who expand their minds to read challenging nonfiction and learn about the leaders and thinkers who have shaped their world. Thank you for considering our proposal.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households

30 students impacted 7 donors

Project tagged as

San Jose, CA
Grades 3-5
Literacy
History & Geography
Traditional School
Books
More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households

Ms. Gardner Russo - McEntee Academy Grades 3-5

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

San Jose, CA View local requests

More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

30 students impacted 7donors

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes

Materials Cost Quantity Total

James Monroe Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Andrew Jackson Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Martin Van Buren Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

William Henry Harrison Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

John Tyler Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

James K. Polk Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Zachary Taylor Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Millard Fillmore Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Franklin Pierce Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

James Buchanan Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Abraham Lincoln Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Andrew Johnson Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Ulysses S. Grant: Eighteenth President 1869-1877 Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Rutherford B. Hayes: Nineteenth President, 1877-1881 Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

James A. Garfield: Twentieth President 1881 Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Chester A. Arthur: Twenty-First President 1881-1885 Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Grover Cleveland Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

William McKinley: Twenty-Fifth President, 1897-1901 Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Franklin D. Roosevelt: Thirty-Second President 1933-1945 Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Theodore Roosevelt: Twenty-Sixth President (Getting to Know the U.S. Presidents Series) Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Woodrow Wilson: Twenty-Eighth President (Getting to Know the U.S. Presidents Series) Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Warren G. Harding: Twenty-Ninth President (Getting to Know the U.S. Presidents Series) Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

William Howard Taft: Twenty-Seventh President (Getting to Know the U.S. Presidents Series) Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

George Washington Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

John Adams Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

John Quincy Adams Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Thomas Jefferson Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

James Madison Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Calvin Coolidge: Thirtieth President (Getting to Know the U.S. Presidents Series) Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Herbert Hoover: Thirty-First President (Getting to Know the U.S. Presidents Series) Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Harry S. Truman: Thirty-Third President 1945-1953 Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Dwight D. Eisenhower: Thirty-Fourth President Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

John F. Kennedy: Thirty-Fifth President 1961-1963 Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Lyndon B. Johnson: Thirty-Sixth President 1963-1969 Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Richard M. Nixon: Thirty-Seventh President, 1969-1974 Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Gerald R. Ford: Thirty-Eighth President 1974-1977 Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Jimmy Carter: Thirty-Ninth President 1977-1981 Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Ronald Reagan: Fortieth President 1981-1989 Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

George Bush: Forty-First President Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

George W. Bush: Forty-Third President 2001-Present Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Bill Clinton: Forty-Second President, 1993-2001 Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Getting to Know the Worlds Greatest Composers: the Beatles Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.25 1 $6.25

Albert Einstein: Universal Genius Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.25 1 $6.25

Benjamin Franklin: Electrified the World with New Ideas Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.25 1 $6.25

Marie Curie: Scientist Who Made Glowing Discoveries Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.25 1 $6.25

Mary Leakey: Archaeologist Who Really Dug Her Work Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.25 1 $6.25

Lise Meitner: Had the Right Vision about Nuclear Fission Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.25 1 $6.25

Rachel Carson: Clearing the Way for Environmental Protection Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.25 1 $6.25

Stephen Hawking: Cosmologist Who Gets a Big Bang Out of the Universe Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.25 1 $6.25

Dorothea Lange Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.25 1 $6.25

Benjamin Harrison: Twenty-Third President, 1889-1893 Mike Venezia, Mike Venezia (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.15 1 $7.15

Materials cost			$356.55
Vendor shipping charges			$35.66
Sales tax			$25.85
3rd party payment processing fee			$5.35
Fulfillment labor & materials			$9.00
Total project cost			$432.41
Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms			$94.92
Total project goal			$527.33
How we calculate what's needed
Total project goal			$527.33
5 Donors			-$370.00
Donations toward project cost			-$321.40
Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms			-$48.60
match offer			-$135.38
Match offer toward project cost			-$111.01
Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms			-$24.37
Excluded support for DonorsChoose			-$21.95
Still needed View calculation Hide calculation			$0.00

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

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Project Activity

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 Ms. Gardner and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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This teacher needs your help!

Don't Know Much About History

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

Project tagged as

Boost your odds

Top rated for efficiency and transparency.

TEACHERS, FEELING INSPIRED?

Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes

How we calculate what's needed

Project Activity

Project Activity

DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

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