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Mrs. McKelvey-Gallagher from Chicago IL is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

Investigating History through Historical Fiction

My students need 30 copies of the novel Copper Sun to read for social studies class.

  • $293 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Celebrate Black Teachers and Students

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

History is my passion and I wish to share with my students. Historical novels provide opportunity to make history come alive and become more meaningful to students. The novel Copper Sun, will engage students and transport them back to an era in history that should never be forgotten.

I teach middle school at a predominately African-American school on the south side of Chicago in a low income, high crime community.

The school is the epicenter of the community and our students depend on teachers and staff to provide a safe and challenging learning environment. My students are motivated, creative, and extremely inquisitive and committed to learning. They yearn for a balance of real-life exposure and the conventional curriculum. Teaching and learning is an alternative method to connect students interest in their present to the past and apply it to their future.

My Project

Our current History textbooks are outdated and do not meet the challenges of our junior high curriculum. By using historical novels, learning history will become personal and relevant to my students' everyday life. If students can identify with a character in a novel it makes learning about historical events a reality to them; it connects them to the character by personalizing their experience with what they are learning in the classroom. Copper Sun by Sharon Draper is a compelling story about the friendship formed between an indentured servant and a runaway slave. This book is not only a great way to teach about that particular era, but also about cultural differences and tolerance.

Please help make a positive impact on a child's life.

Historical novels can be powerful learning tools to reach students and it only takes one book to change a mind. Quoting our school motto 'Through Perseverance we will Succeed!" Help our students succeed by providing them with the relevant resources to become lovers of History!

Mrs. McKelvey-Gallagher
Grades 6-8

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Where Your Donation Goes

Materials Cost Quantity Total
Copper Sun • AKJ Books $7.01 30 $210.30

Materials cost

$210.30

Vendor shipping charges

FREE

Sales tax

$0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$3.15

Fulfillment labor & materials

$35.00

Total project cost

$248.45

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$43.84

Total project goal

$292.29

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

$292.29

1 Donor

-$292.29

Donations toward project cost

-$248.45

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$43.84

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

$0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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Project Activity

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