Fictional Literature to Enhance the Earth Science Curriculum
My students need a broad range of fictional literature that focuses on stories of surviving natural events pertaining to the Georgia Standards of Excellence for 6th grade science to enhance content interest and increase student literacy.
My classroom includes 150 students from all walks of life. Our school is located in a town where the most affluent and the most economically disadvantaged come together under one roof for learning. I love helping students navigate through their first year of middle school, as they learn how to communicate and collaborate with students who are facing challenges that are different, but just as meaningful as their own.
As their science teacher, I strive to provide an engaging, inclusive space for students to feel accepted and valued for their ideas and varying backgrounds.
I hope that all of my students ultimately realize that in understanding and acknowledging differences within one another, we have the amazing opportunity to change the course of our future.
My Project
Near the end of the school year, one of my students came to me about a fictional trilogy she was reading on an adolescent's survival, in a post apocalyptic world. She was thrilled to see so much of what we had learned in class in her book. I realized, then, a huge opportunity for increasing literacy in my own science classroom.
By using fictional text, that include natural events, that align with the Georgia Standards of Excellence, students are given an opportunity to see applications of their learning in the real world through suspenseful, survival-style fiction.
I began this project by first sifting through our school library for this style fiction. My first haul included 12 books that ranged in lexile, protagonist age and natural event. I instantly saw the connections my students could make from such engaging, adventurous stories. After spending the summer continuing my sifting through sites like Titlewave, Goodreads, Amazon and the American Library Association, I have curated a collection of 30 novels that are grade appropriate and highlight a variety of natural events, written in an engaging, suspenseful format. The literature I chose includes variety in the protagonist's cultural backgrounds to match the diversity present in my own classroom. I will be implementing these stories in the classroom as a way to reach disengaged students and accelerate high performing learners. I created a "reading nook" in the classroom where I hope to house the fictional texts along with comfortable seating. I have such vision and am so grateful Donorschoose may give me the opportunity to see it to fruition. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to consider donating to this project. Sincerely, Mrs. Lipthratt
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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. Lipthratt and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
