Our student population is extremely diverse. Over 40 languages and dialects are spoken in the homes of our students. Many are the first generation in their families born in the United States. As a group, they are excited to learn and ripe for new adventures in learning. They are inquisitive, innovative, and crave complexity on a constant basis. They need curriculum and literature that ignites a fire in them.
At 10 years old you start to wonder about the world and your place in it.
I want to inspire them to see the deep connections between the world and themselves. Encouraging collaboration and communication is imperative to their success. Fostering their love of reading with truly engaging text and topics relevant to their lives by giving them the power to share their thinking with peers is one way to ensure this. I want to grab these young spirits and show them that knowing about their world can make them powerful. I believe that by having the supplies to make them successful that they will become agents of positive change in their own community.
My Project
Reading is the foundation of success in school and beyond. It is where our imaginations are ignited, and we find friendship, adventure, solace, and understanding. My students love to visit our classroom library. Many students struggle though, to find books that interest them. Mysteries seem to be universally appealing, however, it is often challenging to find quality mysteries written on my students' level. The Virginia Mysteries series by Steven K. Smith is an engaging series that draws children in with its clever plots while teaching important history lessons at the same time. It is especially rewarding that the mysteries take place in and around our city and at historical landmarks in our state. I will be able to have cross-curricular lessons as we steep our reading instruction with our history lessons. To enhance our classroom experience I have requested sets of 5 different mysteries, a box opening tool, and some paper towels to help us keep our classroom clean.
These small group sets of mystery novels will turn up the volume on reading in our classroom.
We will be have small book club groups where we read and discuss different mysteries that the pair of brothers from the series encounter. One group may be tracking spies at Mount Vernon while another is ensconced in an ecological quest traveling from Richmond to the Blue Ridge Parkway. They will visit Jamestown, Church Hill, the Jefferson Hotel, Mount Vernon, and Monticello as they help the young protagonists solve a variety of conundrums. I know we will have full engagement as my little Sherlocks travel Virginia.
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