Freshmen English Class Library

My Students

Do you remember sitting in high school, being forced to read a book that you had no interest in reading? I don't want that to happen to my students! I want them to explore different texts that will spark a love of reading. An in class library will allow them to read and return books at their pace.

Our students attend an urban high school in MA.

The students come from many backgrounds (53 languages spoken at the school). After the release of our school's most recent stellar testing scores, it's even more important to continue with the upward trend of our student body. We have enthusiastic students who want to learn, but the lack of resources is sometimes a hindrance. We've begun the year reading shorter fiction and non-fiction pieces that have interested the students, but an expansive in class library will allow them to choose books on their own and develop and individual love of reading.

My Project

We are requesting high-interest, grade and reading level appropriate novels that our students will read during their independent reading unit. Their resources are limited, as are ours, and we really want to create or further inspire their desire to read independently. The books that we've requested appeal to upper-middle school and high-school aged students, and represent both high and mid-level reading abilities. They vary from classics to more modern, popular texts. Research has shown that reading is the best way to strengthen all skills that students need to succeed. Our project is important mainly because many of our students come to us with either ambivalence or animosity towards reading, primarily because they haven't read anything interesting to them in school. Many have working parents who may not have time to read with their kids, although they do have the desire. We want to provide for our students opportunities to love reading.

By creating a desire to read, you create a desire to learn.

It is of utmost importance to make our students recognize the value of reading. By allowing them to read interesting, approachable texts, their literacy will improve, as will their desire. Ideally as they move past high school, their reading ability will allow them to read complex college level texts, as well as further thought-provoking ones on their own.