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
Every day, my students ask, "Miss, what are we doing today?" and the usual response is "Learning!" followed by groans and eye-rolling. My students come from low-income households and receive free breakfast and lunch in school.
Often, schoolwork isn't their primary focus, and it can be hard to motivate them to take their learning seriously.
I regularly introduce outside resources like biographies, film studies, and guest speakers to spark their interest in history. As part of my practice, I try to bring creative and challenging research projects to the classroom, in order to advance their learning and inquiry about the world around them.
My Project
My students are craving the resources that allow them to learn beyond the text, and hear from the people who experienced the events we learn about in class. They regularly borrow from the small library of biographies we have in the classroom that supplement the topics we are learning.
Often students will ask me "have you seen this movie," and my reply is "yes, but the book is better".
Then they rush over to the library cart to look for the book to read first and when students bring back the book, I let them borrow the film, if I have it. These books and films will add to the existing library and further promote independent learning.
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. Purdy and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
