As a special education teacher in District 75, New York City's district for students with severe disabilities, I have had the opportunity to follow my six students with autism into a second school year. With this opportunity comes the chance to expand and improve our literacy lessons.
Thanks to my experiences of the last two years, advice from colleagues and mentors, and my graduate school literacy courses, I have come to understand the importance of independent reading time in our classroom. My students hear plenty of read-aloud stories, do lots of phonetic word work, and learn strategies to become more fluent readers every morning during our reading lessons. But all of this is hard to translate to their real reading lives if they do not have time to practice it. With the implementation of long stretches of intentional independent reading, my students need some comfortable places to sit while they practice their new reading skills. I want them to understand that reading is a fun activity that they should be doing everywhere, all the time. But that point is difficult to convey when they have to sit at the same desks they sit at for their other work throughout the day.
I am asking for two bean bag chairs for my classroom to begin creating a more inviting environment in our classroom library. I want my students to be able to curl up and enjoy a good book.
Thank you for your consideration.
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
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