Green Eggs and Ham- Just what the Dr. Ordered for Reading!

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

My students live in a state where it is said that a prison cell is built for each second grader that is reading below grade level.... I am a first year Title I English teacher with Teach for America. I teach 8 classes of Kindergarten-6th grade at a high-poverty, inner-city, charter school. Each one of my amazing students receives free lunch, faces great obstacles at home, and reads severely below grade level. Each one of my determined students WILL have a successful and influential future. One of the big goals for my classes is to make at least 1.5 years of growth in reading. My students will receive small-group instruction, ranging from 4-8 students per class. They will learn the importance of reading in not only their day-to-day lives, but also the doors that literacy opens for their futures. Although they may be surrounded by print and positive messages about reading while at school, many leave school and enter a world that is sorely lacking of anything to read. My students need print copies and audio copies of books to take home with them so that, regardless of their home environment or family's literacy levels, they can have a consistent literacy-rich environment. Research has shown that children who read 30 minutes a day perform significantly better than their peers who do not have the same reading exposure. By having this opportunity for constant reading exposure while at home, my students will have much greater successes not only this year, but also for the rest of their lives. The Cd's I plan to record of the children's books will provide a community support network of reading for my students. Our school principal, other teachers, older students from our school, local college students, as well as myself, can read Dr. Seuss and other favorites to these amazing children every night in their own homes- what better way to encourage and reinforce the importance of reading? Your support will help empower students with one of the greatest and most influential skills for their entire lives-literacy. They are amazing and deserve to be accounted for in positive social projections, such as the future doctors, professors, and professionals in our country. Please join me in the fight to help close the achievement gap in our country and share in the ensuing joy when my students stand victorious!