I teach in an area that receives a large number of immigrant and refugee children. Within our district, over 77 languages and 104 countries are represented. We have several centers housed within neighborhood schools to provide sheltered language and academic instruction to English language learners needing intensive support upon arrival in the United States.
I currently have 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students from a variety of countries and linguistic backgrounds.
Some of these students had access to education in their home countries and are working to translate their academic knowledge into a new language. Others have had interrupted or no previous education and have a great deal of work ahead of them as they make the transition into our educational system. Regardless of their backgrounds, each one of them will need high-quality materials and instruction to build the vocabulary and comprehension needed to excel. The materials requested in this project will support them in developing their English language as well as support their continued academic progress.
My Project
I recently had the opportunity to observe another teacher using Fundations Language Training with a small group. I had an immediate light bulb moment! While most of my students have been successfully learning alphabetic principles, some of my students are continuing to struggle. My observation was enough to know that this program would make a huge difference for those students! This structured program would allow my students to feel successful while working toward mastery of foundational reading skills. The predictable format would be especially beneficial for my English language learners who are still working to build their social and academic vocabularies.
Until my students have mastered letters, letter sounds, decoding, and encoding, they won't be able to read, which is a critical academic and life skill.
While we've made progress, it is apparent that I need additional approaches and materials to fill in the gaps for students who are struggling. Please help me in giving my students the tools they need to be academically successful and build a love of reading early on.
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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. Hollis and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
