I teach in urban Iowa, which sounds like an oxymoron, but truly isn't! Images of barns and soybeans and Kevin Costner's idyllic baseball field are far from the minds of my 8th grade students.
I have lost students to violence, to sudden middle-of-the-night moves, to pregnancy, and to drugs. That's their reality.
I teach primarily 8th grade Language Arts in a 6-8 building. We are in the upper 80% range for free and reduced lunch.
I sat watching a group of my girls during a study hall type period this week. Some of them had just read the book Twilight. Some of them had seen the movie. They were quizzing each other on different plot points purely for amusement, and it wasn't too long before the book readers looked at the movie goers and said, "just read the book, you don't know what you're talking about." Joy to an English teacher's ears, of course, but it also saddened me a bit to see crestfallen faces on the not-so-good readers sitting at the table. For them, a book that large seemed insurmountable.
Many of my students, despite being in 8th grade, are reading at 2nd and 3rd grade levels. Audio books are a way for these students to be able to read the same materials as their peers without becoming frustrated.
My students want to read. They are realizing that stories in books offer so much more than those seen on a television or movie screen. To have those same books that their friends are reading in an audio format will only add to the numbers of my students who can be Caught by the Magic of Reading.
The House on Mango Street Sandra Cisneros
• Barnes and Noble
$22.45
1
$22.45
The House on Mango Street Sandra Cisneros, Read by Sandra Cisneros
• Barnes and Noble
$13.49
1
$13.49
Stargirl Jerry Spinelli
• Barnes and Noble
$15.29
1
$15.29
Stargirl Jerry Spinelli, Read by John Ritter
• Barnes and Noble
$22.50
1
$22.50
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Ann Brashares, Tucker Shaw
• Barnes and Noble
$14.35
1
$14.35
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Ann Brashares, Narrated by Angela Goethals, Read by Angela Goethals
• Barnes and Noble
$17.99
1
$17.99
Bluest Eye Toni Morrison
• Barnes and Noble
$17.95
1
$17.95
The Bluest Eye Read by Toni Morrison, Read by Ruby Dee
• Barnes and Noble
$22.45
1
$22.45
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy Ally Carter
• Barnes and Noble
$13.59
1
$13.59
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy Ally Carter, Read by Renee Raudman
• Barnes and Noble
$26.95
1
$26.95
Suite Scarlett Maureen Johnson, Read by Jeannie Stith
• Barnes and Noble
$23.99
1
$23.99
Suite Scarlett Maureen Johnson
• Barnes and Noble
$8.09
1
$8.09
Princess Ben: Being a Wholly Truthful Account of Her Various Discoveries and Misadventures, Recounted to the Best of Her Recollection, in Four Parts Catherine Murdock
• Barnes and Noble
$12.80
1
$12.80
Princess Ben: Being a Wholly Truthful Account of Her Various Discoveries and Misadventures, Recounted to the Best of Her Recollection, in Four Parts Read by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
• Barnes and Noble
$26.99
1
$26.99
Materials cost
$258.88
Vendor shipping charges
$25.89
Sales tax
$12.94
3rd party payment processing fee
$6.47
Fulfillment labor & materials
$17.00
Total project cost
$321.00
Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
$70.46
Total project goal
$391.46
How we calculate what's needed
Total project goal
$391.46
14 Donors
-$377.65
Donations toward project cost
-$321.00
Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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. R. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.