Children sprawled on the floor or huddled around tables, children talking excitedly about their learning and about books, children creating, children exploring and designing their own experiments, children owning their classroom environment and taking charge of their learning--this is our classroom.
Welcome to the ASPIRE Academy in GCISD, TX!
We are an academy for highly-gifted students, housed in a public elementary school that we love. Our students thrive in this setting that challenges them to their fullest potential, and they need a class library that puts books in their hands--ones that strike their imaginations and engage their hearts and minds.
After working with my gifted first graders this past year, I realized how much they loved reading, yet how little was available to them in our classroom library. Over the course of the year I watched which titles, genres, or authors they kept reaching for off the shelf, or asking for in the library.
So, this project is simple--a whole lot of books! Books of culture, rich in thoughtfulness and design. Folktales, biographies, realistic and historic fiction, books that spark creativity and higher-level thinking; books that make them laugh, and most of all, books that encourage them to love readingl
My Project
Before this year, I taught in a general education first grade classroom. Although I brought some books with me, a lot of them were not appropriate for my new class full of gifted students. I tried to supply what I was able to, and had a few parents help along the way, but our classroom library is still limited and small. I want to have a wider, richer variety of texts that my students can read and enjoy.
The materials I am requesting on behalf of my first graders will be completely used and loved by first grade classes to come. Imagine children scattered throughout the room, lost in a beloved book. Think about their vocabularies advancing, their comprehension skills solidifying, their word-decoding skills sharpening as they tackle the text, their imaginations soaring. Studies show that the only way to get better at reading, is by reading! My students own this mantra and believe it.
Donations towards this project will help my students grow in their literacy skills and help to instill in them a love of reading.
Reading is powerful, and reading takes you places--so I humbly ask for you to help my students in this important way.
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 Mrs. Rubinson and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.