Dr. Seuss famously said, "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." I am always on the lookout for ways to help students read more, know more, and learn more so they can go and do more!
My students are amazing first-grade learners in a suburban school district in the Midwest.
Literacy is a huge part of our daily curriculum; this includes reading, writing, speaking, and listening. My students enter first grade at various reading levels - some can read and comprehend chapter books independently, others need support to decode 3-letter consonant-vowel-consonant words. Most fall in between these extremes. Regardless of where they start the year, they are excited to see evidence that they are, in fact, growing as readers.
My Project
My first-grade students are so excited to learn to read and understand lots of different kinds of texts! Our listening center gives them an opportunity to practice important comprehension skills even if the reading level of a book is beyond their current abilities. In addition, they serve as great models of fluent oral reading. Among the book-and-CD sets I have requested are several nonfiction titles. These will be a wonderful resource for everyone to use but especially for my struggling readers. While listening to the books being read aloud, they can still use comprehension strategies for nonfiction text (such as predicting, asking questions, answering questions, and noticing nonfiction features). The book-and-CD sets will provide decoding support for readers while they focus on their comprehension, and they will also be a model of fluent oral reading.
The literacy materials I have requested will directly affect the reading growth of first-grade students in my classroom.
While using the variety of fiction and nonfiction books and CDs, students will be able to practice comprehension skills regardless of their decoding ability. It is my hope that they will also see reading as an enjoyable activity. Having and using these materials in my classroom will be a huge part of setting students on the path to lifelong literacy.
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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. Ross and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.