Eager Reading Detectives: Investigating New Genres
My students need a classroom set and teacher's guides of the following books: Chains, Kids at Work, and City of Ember. These are books for our literacy program in fifth grade.
A typical day in my classroom starts with a buzz about the reading lesson for the day. Kids come in the room wanting to know what materials they need to be ready for the day's task. As I read aloud, every student sits with a book in their hands. There is a level of excitement each day as we start.
I teach at a Title I school in Seattle, Washington with over 80% in the free and reduced-price lunch program and a high percentage of English language learners.
My students come from incredibly diverse backgrounds with most of them speaking multiple languages at home. The students in my class are hungry to learn. While learning may present challenges, they are excited to be in class each day. Our school is very much like a community within a community. Every week there are multiple students from last year who come to my room to say hello, tell about their day, or help out. My students don't just look to their teachers for learning, but also for guidance in life and growing up. My school struggles to make ends meet when it comes to having enough materials for everyone or getting updated curriculum for classrooms. We rely heavily on our community for support. Because of them, we are significantly better off. My students are lucky to see such kindness affect their lives at school.
My Project
This year I have been using the Read Side by Side C.I.A. Units of Study for my main reading program. I can't explain the love of both the program and engaging in high level thinking about books that has come from this for my students. C.I.A. stands for collect, interpret, and apply. Students engage in activities that teach them to slow down and collect evidence on important story elements, determine a theme for a book, collect evidence, and formulate conclusions about what they read. They learn new vocabulary and have discussions daily. So far we have completed a unit on Earthquake Terror by Peg Kehret and we are currently reading Holes by Louis Sachar. The teacher guides and classroom book sets are exactly what they need to continue the reading program. Each book unit will teach them in depth about historical fiction, non-fiction, and science fiction. These units will also help to get them excited about reading these genres on their own.
I know these books will have a powerful impact.
After jumping up three levels, I told a student how proud of him I was and asked him if he had been reading a lot at home. He looked at me and explained that he was sure that C.I.A. was helping him to become a better reader. Seeing how the program deeply impacted him has been my favorite teaching moment of the year. Your donations will help students like him to achieve the reading success they need and build a love for reading.
More than half 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
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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. Walrath and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
