My students need books to read in our Guys Read Club and supplies, such as tape and labels, to review and label Guys Read Approved books in our school library.
Almost every guy remembers teachers assigning books that he just couldn't relate to! Unfortunately, some boys have the mistaken impression that NO books relate to them. A Guys Read Club gets these boys together to read high-interest books and recommend them to other boys in the school.
My fifth graders come from mixed backgrounds.
Our school educates a cross-section of economic groups in our Idaho city from extreme poverty to middle class. Still, they all work together in my classroom. I'm the only male classroom teacher in my school, so many of the boys in my class are able to relate to me in ways they haven't with past teachers. I want to spark a love of learning and reading in these boys so they continue to work hard and excel after they leave my classroom.
My Project
Our Guys Read club brings together a group of fifth grade boys to share the joy of reading. So far, we've just been able to discuss books that club members have read individually. If we were to have sets of high-interest books, groups of boys within the club could read the same book simultaneously and get together for discussions. Turning reading into a social event will encourage more of my reluctant boy readers to pick up a book and join us.
In addition to reading and discussing books, I would also like to provide the Guys Read club with pocket notebooks so they could jot down ideas as they read. Guys Read members will turn these notes into book reviews to be posted on the school website and mark reviewed books with "Guys Read Approved" labels in our school and classroom libraries. These "Guys Read Approved" books will be our school's gold standard of interesting literature for boys.
I've only taught for eight years, but during that time I've noticed the number of boys who love reading dwindle.
Many boys say that there aren't books at school that interest them. Donating books and reviewing supplies to our Guys Read Club will get high-interest books into boys' hands. As they read these books and mark them as "Guys Read Approved," they will encourage more boys to self-select interesting books. Boys at our school will never say, "There's nothing for me to read" again!
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 Mr. Windisch and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
