My students need 46 bilingual and native language reading materials to support their literacy development. Help my students build native and English language proficiency!
FULLY FUNDED! Ms. J.'s classroom raised $510
This project is fully funded
My Students
Imagine 1 day you're a top student in your home country school and the next you are a newcomer English language learner surrounded by a foreign language and culture. These are my students. They're hungry for books that will support their native- and English language development. We love bilinguals!
We are Global Citizens!
Multilingualism is a passport that opens doors to innumerable opportunities. My students, all English language learners, are emerging bilinguals in need of bilingual books in their native languages and English. The monolingual students in my school are eager to learn their classmates languages.
Ample research demonstrates that students who continue to develop literacy in their native language are better able to acquire a second language. Building a multilingual library benefits English language learners and monolingual students who hope to learn second and third languages.
The large majority of English language learners in my school come from southern China. We also have a number of students from Central and South America, some students from the Caucasus region, and a small number from the MENA. Unfortunately, our library contains English language books only. Our students should see their languages among the stacks in the school library to check out and read!
My Project
Our first planned project is an international read aloud. Once we have acquired a collection of bilingual books, students will be paired up to read aloud their book to the class. This is an incredible opportunity for a newcomer or beginner language learner to show off his fluency in his native language. It builds confidence and connections in the classroom. It also creates an environment of respect for all languages and cultures. Something that all our students benefit from.
After participating in the international read aloud, student pairs will create their own bilingual texts. Each pair will sort through a bilingual list of topics, identify what interests them most, and begin work on a bilingual text. For example, "I am From..." (a bilingual book introducing students home countries and including information about holidays, food, customs).
Students will check out bilingual texts and take them home to read aloud to their caretakers to help support literacy rich home environments.
No student should be denied the opportunity to hear, read, and communicate in her native language.
It is imperative that our emerging bilinguals continue to develop their native language literacy as they acquire English. Students with access to native language materials will not forget their home language, will always have words to communicate with their grandparents, and will be better positioned to acquire English. And, who knows, maybe one day they will be your translator. :-)
More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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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. J. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
