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 fifth grade class is an energetic, unique, and loving group of students who are eager to become better readers. Our school serves inner city students who come not only to learn academics but often to be loved. In my classroom, I believe in empowering each child to believe in themselves and their abilities so they can obtain the education they deserve.
My class is passionate about reading and loves to dive into new and exciting novels.
Students are excited to find new or hidden books on our classroom library shelves, swap beloved books with one another, or receive brand new materials from RIF- Reading Is Fundamental- every few months. Our school does not have a library in our building, so we travel as a class to the neighborhood library once a month. Children whose parents have filled out library card applications are eligible to check out books; those who are not still search the shelves with joy. It is my goal this school year for all my students to have access to grade level texts that are engaging.
My Project
This year our class is participating in a Battle of the Books competition and will be competing with a fifth grade class from another school. It is not only our classes' first competition, but the first Battle of the Books competition to take place in our school! My students are so excited to start diving into the six novels chosen for the Battle. They have created Book Clubs where they assign each other how much material to read per week, discuss and review the material that has already been read, and keep an online journal via Google Classroom where each member has an assigned job to complete while reading. Although my students are already working very hard to get ready for this Battle, there's one problem: we do not have enough books for each group to utilize. As of now, we are working with 1-2 novels per 10-15 students. I have provided online versions of the novels that have them, but not all do and they are simply not the same as reading the actual book.
Your donations will directly purchase the six chosen Battle of the Books novels and allow my students a better reading experience throughout the course of this competition.
Having an actual book in hand will allow my students the flexibility to do the following things- read aloud and follow along more efficiently, engage themselves within the text, complete multiple parts of their Google Classroom journals at once by dividing up responsibilities, and have a sense of pride in their role in this competition.
Having access to a few more copies of each novel will make it possible for my students to aspire to reach the finish line in this competition. Thank you so much for helping us on our path to success!
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 Ms. Gerst and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
