I work in a large inner city, low-income district. My students are remarkable. Due to poverty, they tend to not have some of the background knowledge or experiences that more affluent students usually have. This is a hindrance to their abilities to make connections, especially when reading texts.
My school is home to one of our District's SAIL programs specifically designed for students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Thirty-four percent of our students are Special Ed students. Forty-five percent are English Language Learners. Fifty-eight percent are low-income students and eighty-four percent are categorized as high needs. We are a wonderful, diverse group of learners.
My Project
Scholastic News is the only nonfiction and current events magazine made just for the fourth grade classroom. Each issue uses short, on-level texts to engage students, build language arts skills and increase science and social studies knowledge. With exciting articles and online resources like digital editions, videos and Text-to-Speech audio, all my diverse learners will be able to learn regardless of their learning styles, primary language, and academic levels. Science Spin comes 8 times a year. Each issue is a complete science lesson that covers an important science curriculum standard and connects to rigorous state standards.
All my students will benefit from having their own subscription and copy to bring home after we have used them in the classroom to share their learning with their families.
Learning strategies to read nonfiction text in authentic literature will go a long way in helping them better understand how to make sense of this genre.
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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. Montiverdi and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.