I am a first year special education teacher working with a group of 5th grade students, who have a variety of learning and emotional disabilities. All of my students are below grade level in reading (some by more than 2 years) and math.
The typical student in my class is reading at a 3rd grade level.
Many of them struggle with phonics, decoding, comprehension and number sense. The DRA for a 5th grade reader is a 50 by the end of the year, many of my students are in the 30's. My goal this year is for each of my students to gain one level or more in their DRA reading assessment. I know they can do it with the right tools.
I am requesting books on tape (with the accompanying book) so that my students can listen to the books that their classmates are reading (that they cannot) but will be able to follow along with the print version while they are listening to the book. This will help with their listening comprehension and decoding abilities. Your generous donations will help me build this library for them and create stronger readers.
My Project
These materials will help my students improve their reading and comprehension abilities. Oral comprehension is often better than reading comprehension in students with decoding disabilities.
By allowing my students to "read" the same books as their peers, they will feel better about themselves when discussing books with their classmates.
When students feel good about themselves, they become more successful learners.
Our school does not supply headphones, and many of my students are unable to provide quality headphones for themselves. A class set of headphones will help my students access books on tape and on the computer.
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