Expanding Our Minds Through Literacy

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.

My Students

Dr. Seuss wrote, "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go!" My students are chomping at the bit to get some new, and interesting, reading material. Every day begins with independent reading time. In order to grow, students need new books.

I have about 30 bilingual students.

All of them come from Mexico. Their native language is Spanish. This often discourages them when picking up books written in English. My school is located in a high-crime, low-income neighborhood. We have limited resources in our classrooms. Most of my students do not enjoy reading because they lack confidence in their English reading skills. This makes them gravitate towards certain genres and in turn; they aren't exposed to different types of reading. I would love to establish a life-time reader type of culture. A huge part of this is giving them a plethora of options when it comes time for reading.

My Project

The students will use these books for their writing journal writing in the morning time when they read on their own. Students will also check them out from the classroom library to take home and read them, since they need to read at least 40 min daily. Many times, we also use these book for the reading activities that we have in our Reading period. So, when the students read the books that I'm requesting, it will give them a chance to be exposed to differing genres. Students will also use these materials with partners. Having these books will give them the opportunity to read in pairs. This will positively associate "fun" with reading and will further aid in helping them become lifelong readers.

These books will help students fall in love with reading.

Having many different options will keep them excited to pick up a new book on a consistent basis. This will also help them prepare for the following grade levels because they will build their reading fluency. This project will impact my classroom for years to come. Each year, I will be able to use these resources with my incoming class. It will help me to change each group into loving readers.