Ours is a small rural school that sits on the northernmost tip of Appalachia. It is a land of farms with rolling fields and country roads. Our population is not affluent, and there is not much in the way of entertainment. School events are always well-attended. On a Friday night during football season, the stands are full of passionate fans. Last year's Beauty and the Beast nearly sold out with over 250 seats for all three showings. The school and its students are the heart of our community.
My students are the kindest, most generous and down-to-earth people.
Most have hundreds of hours of community service by the time they graduate, and many are highly involved with local churches and missions. They have a strong sense of loyalty to our school and its community. Many have parents that graduated from our school, and most will not travel far in their lives.
My Project
As freshmen, more than a few of my students come to me with a distinct distaste for reading. The problem is that these students fail to gain important reading skills needed for life outside of school. I view it as a personal mission to turn these non-readers into readers, hoping that increased exposure to reading will provide them with an opportunity to gain these incredibly important skills.
Graphic novels can act as stepping stones to move reluctant readers across the river of inexperience and into the land of being a lifelong reader.
I have some rich and diverse books in my classroom, but if students do not possess the stamina to read them, they are as good as useless. Graphic novels are not intimidating to inexperienced readers, but they can provide the opportunity to practice some of the same skills as regular novels, building the skill and reading stamina needed for longer and more challenging texts.
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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. Valingo and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
