If your high school social studies classes were anything like mine as a kid, they began by the teacher saying, "Take out your textbooks. Read Chapter 4, and answer the questions at the end of Section 3." Well, that is not how my students explore social studies; we are historians!
My sophomore US History students are geeked about pushing their historical knowledge towards success in Advanced Placement US History.
My students are a group of developing readers from a small sub-rural high school in Michigan. They want to explore history in a truly authentic way, and with their new-found love of authentic literacy, they understand that this kind of exploration is possible beyond the textbook!
My Project
These notebooks will help support my students as they move beyond the traditional course textbook end-of-the-chapter questions and into the authentic work of real historians.
As student historians, my students will use the notebooks to record their analysis of primary and secondary documents, debate current issues, and draft multi-sourced historical essays.
As high poverty students, my students know that Advanced Placement classes, like AP US History, can help them reach what could be a distant and expensive step towards university.
These notebooks will not only provide for them what their families may not be able to do, but they can also help narrow the distance to college by scaffolding students' literacy skills towards long-term academic success.
Half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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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. Beaton and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
