This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
Our principal hosts a monthly Reading Club. In order to get in, you have to read 20 books at home each month. So, you check your book from the classroom, take it home to Mom and Dad-and they can't read it to you, because they can't read English!
We are in a unique spot-we are a pre-kindergarten-only school that is a collaboration between the local school system and Head Start.
Our students are low-income, high-risk students who often reside in single family households. We are four years old, and we are excited about school! Whether we are making a volcano explode, digging in our garden, tinting icing our favorite color, hanging out in the Book Club, or just working and playing in groups and centers, we are at school to be safe, have fun, and learn, learn, learn!
My Project
Our ultimate classroom goal is to develop a group of young, independent, excitable readers. Through our Principal's Book Club, and our own classroom book club, we do just that. By attacking emerging literacy skills both in the classroom and at home, we ensure that our young learners are engrossed in print-rich activities and experiences. The resources requested as part of this project will do just that for a particularly at-risk portion of our classroom and school population-our ESL learners. Our ESL learners are most often Spanish-speaking students, and typically reside in families that speak predominantly, if not exclusively, Spanish. The books requested through this project will vastly stimulate our Spanish book collection, which will ensure that all of our ESL students are able to check out and take home books that are not only fun to read but also appropriate for their parents to read to them.
Each school year, my ESL parents come to me, afraid of Pre-K because of the language barrier.
I communicate to them in Spanish as best as I can, and ensure that weekly newsletters, conference forms, and homework all come home in their native language. However, until now I have been unable to do the same with our lending library. This project will give us the resources needed to institute a true Bilingual library, which will allow us to share the joy and discovery of reading with ALL students.
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 Mr. Spratlin and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.