This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
"Ugh! Miss! Why do we have to read this?!" To my students, reading has becoming a chore. All they really needed was some action, adventure, suspense, and excitement! In order to reach out to even the most reluctant readers, we began our first novel, The Hunger Games. Now, my students want more!
These 8th grade students come from families who often struggle to provide them with their basic needs, but place a high value on their child's education.
The students are extremely energetic and intuitive, and their love for reading has been restored!
The students attend a growing charter school that sets high expectations for them, especially when it comes to testing! Approximately 90% of the students in my class have scored as Proficient or Advanced on their 7th grade English CST. This is a great accomplishment! However, oftentimes I feel we spend more time practicing how to take a test, rather than how to enjoy a good book!
My Project
Although character analysis, plot development, and other elements of literature have been discussed, student's ability to respond to and analyze text has shown the most growth. While analyzing text, students have been responding to the novel through Dialectical Journals--asking questions, making predictions, clarifying meaning, evaluating decisions, and most frequently, making connections. Through the use of dialectical journals, students are using high-level thinking to make sense of what they read. Besides the action and suspense of the novel, many of the students have been reflecting on their lives in connections to the overall themes of the novel. Students have been very candid in their responses, writing about ideas of oppression, loss, and poverty, as well as the importance of hope, friendship, and love. Furthermore, students have been relating the novel to topics in history. One student explained the way in which history is repeating itself in the country of Panem!
Our class was fortunate enough to have our first set of books purchased by the school.
However, with budget cuts here and there, the only way we can continue reading this trilogy is if the students purchase the books on their own or if books are donated. One student recently told me she is number 34 on a wait list at the local library, just to borrow a copy of Catching Fire! Please help to continue to show students that reading can be fun! Thank you!
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. Yamanishi and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
