My students need high-interest, easy to read books to take home to read with their families including Young Cam Jansen, Mercy Watson and Silly Lilly books.
"Words are your wheels to take you anywhere you feel. Where you can laugh or you can cry, let your imagination fly, let it lead you where it will."
Help me turn those wheels and keep my students reading at home!
I've taught in my building for 12 years and have grown to truly love my job.
In those 12 years, I have seen major changes in the home lives of our students. We felt the economic downturn a few years ago, as we watched our percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunch rise. Nearly 80% of the students in the building receive free/reduced lunch. (This is actually a decrease from a few years ago.) Additionally, our mobility rate has increased dramatically. Almost 20% of the students in the building will transfer in or out in the course of the school year.
The six and seven year old children I work with every day wear many hats; they are playwrights, lyricists, poets, mathematicians, scientists, authors, and readers. The energy level and enthusiasm for learning I see from my students every day is inspiring (and sometimes exhausting - but in a good way).
My Project
Despite the change in building demographics, parent support remains strong. Parents in my building continue to want the best education for their children, and work hard with their children at home.
My students bring home their "book-in-a-bag" every night. The bag contains 2-3 student selected books, a record sheet, a bookmark, and a card with reading strategies. Students read with their families for at least 20 minutes each night. It's amazing the impact I see with just 20 minutes of reading!
I know the students in my class will LOVE these new "book-in-a-bag" books. I chose a variety of books, both fiction/literature and non-fiction/informational.
As a first grade teacher, one of my primary responsibilities is to create readers.
I take kindergartners, with letter knowledge and some sight words, and turn them into readers. It's an amazing task, and an honor for me.
Another responsibility of my job is to make my students love learning. These high-interest, first grade appropriate books will help me accomplish both responsibilities.
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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 Ms. Hembrough and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
