The reward of watching a struggling student participate in classroom activities with a feeling of success is beyond measure!
I have the pleasure of teaching a very diverse class of second graders in an urban school district. There is a wide range of abilities including students with special needs. I have high expectations for all my students and strive to help them grow to their full potential.
Our district has a very extensive curriculum designed to prepare our students to meet our state standards and compete with other districts within our state and across the country. It is imperative to me that all of my students meet with success, and as we know, success breeds success. Despite the fact that my students have a wide range of abilities, I want all of my students, including the struggling readers, to have to same opportunities to access information and build their reading skills. All children enjoy being an expert on a given topic. Those students who are unable to read proficiently are often at a disadvantage, unable to read information independently that is of interest to them. With 26 students and one teacher in my class, I need to be able to provide my students with as many resources as possible to meet all of their needs.
My students need multiple copies of a variety of books, each with an accompanying CD. This will enable 4 students at a time to use the listening center together and share the experience of listening to a story being read to them as they follow the text. This provides numerous benefits for the students. Children who are unable to read some of these texts independently will now be able to access information through listening to the story. Following along and listening to a story read by an adult serves as a model for good fluency and expression, and helps the students develop their own reading comprehension, vocabulary and fluency, as well as expand their knowledge. Children learn through different modalities. Using both visual and auditory modalities allows students to be more successful, thus being able to hear the story being read while following the text will ensure greater learning. I have chosen 10 non-fiction books, 5 biographies and 5 science topics that reinforce and enrich our current curriculum. The additional 5 titles are non-fiction stories of high interest to my second grade students. After listening to the stories the students will have the opportunity to share what they have learn
My students are always so appreciative of what others do for them. Your help will ensure that all of my students will have an additional opportunity to improve their reading skills and extend their knowledge base.
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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. Matican and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.