My students need 14 more high-interest books for our classroom library, such as "Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allan Crow"!
$254 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
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.
Wow, you should have seen the excitement on my students' faces when we received book donations last year! They were thrilled to find the books that they had wanted. Now they have created a new list of books to add to our classroom library.
I teach about 150 teenagers in ninth and tenth grade English. Many of them are struggling readers. Somehow they've been passed up through the system even though their reading skills are at a third to fifth grade level. So by the time they reach high school, they feel so alienated and disenfranchised that many truly believe they will never succeed...at reading or school, or anything considered "acceptable" by our society.
Last year I began a Reading Workshop program with a small classroom library that includes books already donated from DonorsChoose. But I need more books that are geared for inner city high school students who are reluctant or struggling readers.
When I surveyed my 150 students in September, I had about 50 students who were not reading at all and many who only read books required by teachers. Many are English Learners or Standard English Learners.
When I started the Reading Workshop with my small class library, I saw a noticeable improvement - kids are actually bringing their books to read during the Silent Sustained Reading Period! They love these books, but there aren't enough to go around.
We do have a good library at school, but the collection is geared toward high school level reading and therefore is too challenging for many of my struggling readers. Also, reluctant readers are not willing to go to the school library on their own time.
Studies show that students improve their reading when they can choose books that interest them, and books that they are comfortable reading. My students must read 30 minutes every day from any book they choose. They keep a log and journal of their reading, discuss books, and write book reviews.
The goal is not only to improve reading skills, but also to build students' background knowledge about the world around them. Many learn how to cope with their own real-life problems by reading about characters from novels and non-fiction books. For example, one of my students had been planning to get pregnant with her boyfriend until she read a book about teenage mothers - that book helped her to realize the obstacles she might face as a teenage mom.
This donation will fulfill my students' wish list of books.
A classroom library full of books that my students are capable of reading...and can enjoy...would greatly improve their reading skills AND would help these students to succeed!
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. Lee and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
