My project needs 75 copies of the autobiography Left to Tell; by Immaculee Illibagiza.
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I am a 10th grade English Language Arts teacher. Our school is a New Visions Empowerment school which serves students in grades 6-12, including students with special needs. We are a unique school in that we integrate human rights education into our curriculum to encourage our students' awareness of both local and global issues.
My students are very passionate about exploring issues of injustice, racism, and social inequality. They are riveted by real stories about real people, and I try to incorporate literature in my teaching that addresses their interests. This year, my 10th grade students face a very challenging Regents exam in global history. In the past, our students have struggled with this particular exam because of the vast amount of information it encompasses, and because they have very little time in their global studies class to explore the topics with much depth. Many of my students, particularly those with learning disabilities, struggle with large concepts on the test, such as genocide.
In an interdisciplinary effort to support their success on this exam, as well as bolster their literacy skills and engage them in human rights topics, I am creating a unit this spring that examines global genocide through personal narratives. "Left to Tell" is a particularly gripping account about the Rwandan genocide as told through the experience of Ms. Immaculee Illibagiza. Last year, several students at our school discovered a few copies of the book in my classroom library and passed it around like wildfire. They were riveted by the story and moved by Ms. Illibagiza's courage. Many of them, after reading, were motivated to take action towards social change and created a volunteer club.
This year, I would like to captivate all of my students with this powerful text. I am therefore requesting 75 copies of "Left to Tell" so that each student can have a copy to read during our unit.
Our project includes reading "Left to Tell" in conjunction with Elie Wiesel's classic Holocaust text, "Night," conducting research on other instances of genocide such as the crisis in Darfur, and creating a class website about the topic for other teenagers.
Your contribution towards this project will enable my students to improve their literacy skills as well as their knowledge of global events. It will help them to gain a more personal connection with a topic that often seems abstract and distant from their everyday lives. In the current climate of high-stakes testing requirements, your contribution will ensure that my students still have access to topics of social urgency and to the focus of our school, human rights education.
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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