Getting students to read, really read and get into a story, is difficult in our current age of technology. There are so many distractions and other activities that young people can turn to. An important part of my job, as a fifth grade teacher, is to have great literature on hand for my students!
My students are a diverse group of 5th graders at our award-winning Title I school.
Our school demographics includes a population with over 50% of our students receiving a free or reduced price lunch. In my current class, I have 15 females and 12 males from many different backgrounds. Many have come from other parts of the world or have parents that were born in other countries. They have many different needs, varying learning styles and interests.
My Project
I am requesting multiple copies of these award winning books that our district has included in a friendly competition called the Battle of the Books. The competition is very motivating and allows the students to compete against other students who have read the same books in a jeopardy style game.
These books are at various reading levels, so even the students who struggle with reading have access to a few of the books. These are books that have been recognized by librarians and teachers as good quality literature and are on the Sasquatch and Young Northwest Reader lists.
My students will form teams and within these teams, they will have choice on which books they will read and become experts on. They will read these books independently, in partnerships and in small groups.
Reading these books will help improve my students' fluency, their comprehension, and they will learn about their world through the different genres.
They will expand their vocabulary. By forming the teams and having to depend on each other, they will grow as teammates and learn those valuable lessons about choosing partners that make good choices and work hard towards their goals. My students will be very excited about having these titles so easily available for them to grab and take home!
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 Mrs. Gundlach and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
