Learning to Read

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

My Students

"The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." Dr. Seuss. I teach a 3rd grade literacy class w/ 20 struggling readers. My goal is to build confidence in these students, make reading easier for them and create life long learners.

I teach in a K-5 school with 980 students.

We are in a low socioeconomic area w/ a high rate of crime and gang presence. 80% of our population is Hispanic and for the majority English is a second language. Over half of our students receive free and reduced lunch. I volunteered to teach a literacy class this year. These students are reading 1-2 years below grade level. They are frustrated and have low self- esteem. 7 students were retained last year. I promised these students I would make reading easier for them. They need to feel successful. I shower them with literacy and they love it. They are a great group and extremely determined to learn. I voluntarily went to a literacy workshop called the "Daily 5" and "CAFE" by the 2 Sisters to improve the structure of my literacy time and delivery of my instruction. This program helps me differentiate my teaching and has had a positive effect on my students. I am seeing results and the students are finding success in themselves.

My Project

Part of the "Daily 5" program gives students a choice to listen to reading. While listening to a story on a computer, students are able to read along to higher level text and have exposure to new vocabulary. Also, students can hear what a fluent reader sounds like. This is especially beneficial to my 3 students who speak little to no English. I have found several free sites online that the students can use to work on Phonics skills. I have one computer in my classroom that everyone shares. This iPad will allow more students to have access to online reading sites. And they will be able to sit wherever they want in the room. Also, it will help build vocabulary because we can look up pictures and information that we are learning about. I do not have any teacher aides, so I intend to use whatever technology I can obtain as an additional support for my learners.

This donation will help me meet my goal of teaching my students to love reading and help them find success.

The needs in my classroom are so great and different for each student that I struggle to meet them all. I know that technology can support my students' learning by allowing them to be productive and practice different skills while I am working with other students.