My students are from an inner-city section of Cleveland known for unsafe streets. We focus on making safety one of our top concerns at school because a feeling of safety allows you to focus on learning while at school. My students are in the fifth and sixth grade, working to succeed in education with obstacles that we are trying to overcome in order to match our counterparts in more affluent areas.
In this class, we build a community around what we have in common and our shared experiences.
The dropout—or pushout—rate for urban students in this area hovers at more than 50%. As a teacher in a public school setting, I need to do more to engage my students. I want them to believe in education and to take ownership of their learning.
We are part of a larger school that celebrates Inclusion. I teach with one additional colleague for English language arts. I work with students with varying disabilities in a resource room as well as in the inclusion classroom. The work we do in this classroom is building relationships, staying with the group, following directions, and accessing general content in different ways. We celebrate wins together every day!
My Project
My students must keep up with the latest advancements in education to spark an interest in reading. Education is changing every single day and so are the interests of my students. Students in my classroom like to read high-interest books but due to their disabilities, they have difficulty accessing grade-level books. My current reading/listening center includes read-along books with CDs. Unfortunately, there are not enough of the same book to use as a group. I would like to add books to our existing reading/listening center in order to reach more students at one time.
Reading/listening centers help students decode unfamiliar words, teach critical listening skills, and introduce new vocabulary.
Students who read along with a CD find reading fun and begin to read more for enjoyment! Helping students begin to learn that reading is fun is a perfect way to build better readers. My students will love having their own book to use while we use the reading/listening center as a group
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. Posladek and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
