Help Me Create Global Learners with Non-Fiction Text!!
My students need access to leveled, non-fiction text to help increase their vocabulary, scope, and range of knowledge of the incredible world around them!
This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
My students are high poverty and thus don't have the access that many middle and upper class students have. They don't travel and they aren't exposed to meaningful dialog and rich language at home. Their experiences in the world are limited and thus they lack knowledge about the world around them.
My students are very capable, however they lack prior knowledge in many areas and have serious deficits in language and vocabulary that I have to help them build.
I don't mind it because these students deserve a quality education and they shouldn't be punished or deemed as "unteachable" because of their circumstances. I have achieved amazing growth with these students year over year because I believe in them and I have high expectations of them. Most of my students come from single parent households, and while this makes things very challenging for them, it's not an excuse as to why they can't attain high achievement. My students are a part of the L.I.F.T. Zone in Charlotte, which is a cluster of schools that have been low performing year over year. There has been a concerted effort to only put high performing, high quality teachers in these schools, and these teachers WANT to teach these students. The process is ongoing and I'm proud to be a part of it.
My Project
My students will learn about different cultures around the world by using these materials, and this will help extend their scope and range about the world. They will learn that not everyone looks like them or even speaks the same language. Our school is not very diverse - it's over 98% African American, so my students are not exposed to cultures outside of their own. I can't physically take them to another country, but I can take them on a journey in a book! Some of the other texts I selected are books about different animals, government, the different states of our union, and other science and social studies related topics. The students will pair up and learn about a different animal, its habitat, classification, etc. and will increase their vocabulary. We will do the same when it comes to learning about our different presidents and what governments and communities are for. This will add to their vocabulary and overall knowledge.
This project will help me enrich my students' lives by adding to their vocabulary and overall knowledge of a whole host of things.
These books will give them information and experience on topics and places that they wouldn't otherwise get. I will be able to use these resources again and again for multiple classes of students. These non-fiction books will change my students' lives for the better because it will increase their knowledge base, and we all know that knowledge truly is power.
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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. Vaughn and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
