My students need books and pencils for annotating, card stock for projects and foldables, and paper for worksheets. The white board will communicate our daily objectives.
About two months ago my first DonorsChoose was funded and my students got to take home a copy of our class novel, Because of Winn Dixie. For many, it was the first book they could call their own.
My students know the value of learning.
They know that, on average, they are two to three years behind in reading and they will do whatever it takes to make up that time. Throughout the course of the year, my students have developed clear and tangible future goals and know what they need to do to achieve them. At the beginning of the year, one of my students wanted to be a professional soccer player. Now he proudly shares "I want to be a soccer player and an English major," when anyone asks him about his future goal. My students understand that the most important factor in their success is literacy. My students are a team and they work together to achieve their dreams.
My Project
When my students received their Because of Winn Dixie books last quarter, I heard cries of joy. "You mean, I get to take my book home?" they asked me, not assuming anything. "Yes," I told them enthusiastically. Then we ceremoniously scribed our names in the inside front covers. The first time I asked my students to underline a simile we identified, they looked at me as if I had asked them to damage a toy or scuff a new pair of shoes. I told them that annotating a book is the best part about owning it. I told them that when we write in our books we don't just read the story, we have a conversation with it. My DonorsChoose project committed my students to our novel study and allowed them to have many beautiful conversations with Because of Winn Dixie. Receiving our new class novel, Frindle by Andrew Clements will help my students continue to develop that skill throughout their elementary education. Colorful copy paper and card stock will captivate my students throughout our novel study
Annotating our new class novel, Frindle will allow my students to dig deeply into the story while identifying character traits, context clues and figurative language.
They will have the opportunity to practice reading strategies and grow their reading comprehension. Most importantly, owing and annotating our class novel will help my students develop a lasting love of literature at a young age. I can't wait to tell them they get to keep Frindle too.
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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 Ms. Whitty and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.