I teach in an incredibly inspiring group of twenty-three students! My classroom is full of diverse learners who come to school with a variety of life experiences. They want to be computer programmers, scientists, teachers, authors, doctors and veterinarians. They want to participate in band and orchestra, theater, athletics and extra-curricular activities because they are enthusiastic learners.
My third graders will be successful in whatever they choose to do because they are thoughtful, creative and eager to learn each day.
My students look forward to reading time each day, and I would love the opportunity to provide all students with access to high-quality, "just-right" books.
My Project
Research has shown time and time again that the best way for children to become successful readers is to increase the volume of just-right books they are reading. As third graders, students are making a defining transition from individuals who are “learning to read” to students who are “reading to learn.” My students want to read diverse, recently-published literature with characters that mirror the world they live in. They want to be able to look on my bookshelves and easily find books they are interested in and can be successful reading. After years of teaching fourth and fifth grade, I’ve compiled a classroom library with several titles/series that interest the “average” and “above-average” third grade reader; however, I do not have nearly enough titles to engage my lower level readers—the ones who need to love reading and the ones who read several short books in one class period.
I want all students in my classroom to be able to comfortably and confidently peruse through multiple bins of books in order to find titles that excite them.
Currently, I have a disproportionate amount of books that target the struggling readers in my classroom, despite this population making up almost half my class at the beginning of the school year. I do not want students to feel like they need to go somewhere else (the reading intervention room, the Special Ed room, the school library) to find just-right books. I believe each of my students should have access within our classroom to high-quality, diverse literature that is written at their just-right level. With these new titles, I will be able to offer a greater selection of series to all students during Reader's Workshop.
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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 Mrs. Glapa and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
