I teach 21 2nd grade students in a low-income, rural setting. Almost one fourth of my class speaks Spanish at home. Half of my students live in poverty and receive free lunch. Many of my students lack the financial resources for enrichment outside of the classroom. The make-up of my classroom this year is about half gifted students and half struggling readers.
With the class that I have this year, reading skills are super important. I have such a dichotomy that I am faced with remediation and enrichment at the same time. I need some additional resources to make the most of my time with these youngsters. One way that I would like to improve reading skills is by integrating reading instruction with other subject matter like science.
Research supports the idea that children get better at reading by reading. Research also states that when children can read about a topic of interest, they read much better than when the teacher chooses the book or story. I want to give my students ample opportunity to read books of their choice and learn about some of the science concepts that we study in 2nd grade. One thing we learn about this year is insects. I have found a few items that would enrich this study tremendously. There is a hands-on science kit about insects that would be perfect for us. We could use it to do different experiments involving insects. There is a set of books that correspond to the topics and activities that are provided in the tub. The two sets are designed to work together. If we had these materials we could become actively engaged in science and really DO science. As a kick-off to the activity I’d read a book from the set or I’d read it after our experiment to cement the concepts. Then the book would be available for kids to choose on their own and read independently, thus reinforcing their reading ability. Boys are particularly drawn to nonfiction. The majority of my struggling readers are boys.
Without these materials, my resources are significantly limited for the study of insects. These books and hands-on activities would be so beneficial for my students. They would help me integrate reading and science instruction, killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. We would really appreciate having these materials in our classroom.
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