When I was younger, I escaped by reading books. I had the love of books instilled in me, and I want to instill the same love to my own 4th graders. I have chosen two books that develop strong themes: autism, homelessness, and needing a sense of belonging.
I live in a rural area.
Our town has exactly two stoplights. The only exposure our students have to life outside our town is books and TV. Although our community is amazing, our annual income is not. The parents I have work extremely hard, but jobs in our area are scarce. When there is a job, it doesn't pay enough to pay for extras, like books.
My Project
I have chosen two sets of novels to use to teach reading skills and social awareness. The first book is about a child who has a sibling with autism. The second is about a child that is growing up in foster care.
Both of these books are award winners.
I would like to expand each book. In the first book, I would like to read the book and have a guest speaker come in and talk about autism. I want to have the students develop an awareness of others, many who may have differences. I plan on developing this into an entire unit on acceptance of others.
The second book is very dear to me. This is about a child who is in foster care. Not only will the students learn about an unfortunate part of our society, the students will learn that this child felt unwanted and unloved.
This will then lead into my, "Pay it Forward" project that I do every year. The students will learn to find ways to improve the community around them by performing acts of kindness.
Our school doesn't have the funds to purchase a classroom set of these books for me.
Therefore, these books will be in my classroom and used for many years. When taught with passion, these books will be remembered for many years. Why? Simply because the books will bring the outside world into our little world. The students will learn that the world isn't always a perfect place, but there are ways to overcome the trials and tribulations that may occur.
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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. Spurr and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
