Impossible Is Not a Word Found in Our Dictionaries!
Help me give my students the opportunity to access high-quality English and Spanish/English dictionaries to become better readers and writers!
$2,579 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
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.
I teach 9- and 10-year-olds in a dual-immersion school, where students receive instruction in both English and Spanish. Our school strives to produce students who are biliterate, bilingual, culturally aware and ready to pursue jobs that have yet to be created!
Many of my students come from very low socio-economic backgrounds and they might be the first ones in their family to complete or even have access to elementary education.
In order for them to be in school, many of their family members work tirelessly so that their children can have the opportunity to successfully pursue an education.
My students are inquisitive by nature, and since many are English Language Learners, they need to be able to access tools that will help them learn both languages at the academic level. Furthermore, these students often don’t have the means to access resources electronically from their homes to complete important writing and reading tasks.
My Project
One of the most challenging tasks as a bilingual teacher is to help students become good readers and writers in two different languages without them feeling anxious or unmotivated. This is why the resources they can find in the classroom library become extremely valuable to them during the time they spend in the classroom. The use of good quality dictionaries in both languages while they are at school is the key to help them acquire new vocabulary words and assist them with a better understanding of reading and writing assignments.
I have high expectations for my 5th-grade students, but I also know I must provide support for those students who need it the most as they transition into middle school and beyond.
Many of my students are English Learners and they struggle with their writing skills in both English and Spanish. Since reading and writing in both languages is heavy in 5th grade, I must provide students with the necessary tools for them to be successful and to not feel anxious or intimidated with challenging writing and reading tasks.
As with most tools, students need to learn how to use dictionaries correctly and independently. On a daily basis I face the challenge to teach all my students how to use the features of dictionaries to help them monitor and check their word comprehension independently. Being able to use dictionaries in both languages will help them understand complex text, academic discussions, and all conversations to help them become college and career ready, and what is best, in two different languages!
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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. Carmen Ohlfs and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
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