My students need to read a contemporary text with real world significance. A Lesson Before Dying is one they will be able to connect, take ownership, respond, and extend.
FULLY FUNDED! Ms. Maggi's classroom raised $877
This project is fully funded
My Students
"Do not train a child to learn by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each." Plato. Students need books with real world, contemporary significance in their own lives.
Our school is a microcosm of the real world, full of a diversity of students from all different backgrounds including family units, race, religion, socio-economic factors, sexual orientation, and learning styles and abilities.
In a College Prep English classroom full of many inner-city teens who are sometimes at risk of not graduating are at the same time seeking meaning in their lives and hoping to be the first in their family to go on to post-secondary education. My students are unique, each in their own way with something valuable to share. Eager to learn, most of them are challenged daily with what happens outside of the classroom which means the time spent together in a learning community becomes a valuable survival tool and a place to establish personal connections and take responsibility for their future. The reality of some of their stories is a testament to their character and the commitment to embrace the opportunities we offer in order to achieve success.
My Project
We are desperately in need of more classroom sets of novels. A Lesson Before Dying has the contemporary relevance and real world significance that students will be able to relate and respond to. We are a literature based English Department which means our core text is a novel. Without enough copies to share among sections, it's difficult to promote literacy and learning through reading, writing, and interpreting. Students will be able to read a novel that has rich potential for thematic connections to the course as well as their own lives. Students will learn how to read for meaning as well as interpret the greater significance of literature. Reading improves fluency and stamina and also promotes vocabulary and writing skills. Our core novel is the primary source that students will use to compare and contrast with information gained from secondary sources that students will learn to synthesize. The core text is also the source of Socratic seminars that promote opening dialog.
I believe this novel is a must-read.
There are certain novels that are required but perhaps less meaningful to my students' lives. A title such as this offers the opportunity to truly engage in the selected core text and learn to enjoy reading. It's magical when students who are often reluctant to read, become eager to engage in a novel. Without the titles that are truly relevant, we are unable to inspire meaning in literature and learning in school for "a lesson before dying."
Half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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