My two classes are comprised of kids who are itching to connect with books. Books that interest them. Books that they see themselves in. Books from different perspectives than their own.
My students are fantastic 5th and 6th graders at a K-8 school in a rural area of California.
We are a Title I school, with over 80% of our students receiving free or reduced breakfast/lunch. This is similar to my class make-up.
One of the best parts of each day is when we share in a read-aloud together. This is either from our class novel, a picture book, or both! The students are fully engaged, and enjoy sharing their thoughts and feelings about what we have read.
My Project
As I've said before in previous projects, there are so many positives that come from every student having access to a copy of a read-aloud book. Benefits include: 1. Complete engagement. When I look up and see ALL my students engrossed in the book, it is amazing. 2. My students' writing has improved, due in part to using class sets of read-alouds. I'm able to use these books as guides on how to correctly punctuate dialogue, how to choose better words in their writing, and so on. 3. Students are able to use their books for other lessons. Some examples include: find your favorite adjectives in chapter 2, text-based evidence questions, what is the theme of the story? etc. The activities and lessons are endless.
This project will not only positively affect my students this year, but it will also affect my future students.
I have some class read-alouds that have been used with 6+ classes so far. You can feel good about not only donating to my current class, but as well as many classes to come.
I chose Jarrett Lerner's book, ENGINERDS, for many reasons. The story is fast-paced, funny, and full of smart kids who love science. Not only that, but my classes were also lucky enough to Skype with Lerner on World Read Aloud Day. They were able to connect with the author by asking questions and learning about the making of this book. How fun to then be able to share his book with them! Please help my kids get (engi)nerdy!
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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. Pepper and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
