My students struggle with the academic skills and the motivation to read. Unless they are exposed to a wide variety of complex, current texts that interest them, they will be lost in the cracks of our educational system. It is essential we provide the materials to keep them engaged.
My students attend a high school of approximately 1,400 in Wisconsin.
They range from 9th through 12th graders who are two or more years below grade level in reading or language proficiency. Students in this gray area struggle to be motivated academically and need real-life events they can relate to, so they are more likely to be engaged in a meaningful discussions and increased reading comprehension. Exposing them to current topics will help them make connections not only to themselves, but to other texts and the world.
My Project
After reading a wide variety of Scholastic magazine articles, my students will be able to read and react through writing and whole and small group discussion regarding timely topics. Students are tired of reading the age-old canon of dead white guys. They cannot relate to it and therefore do not read. Students will be more interested and engaged if they are exposed to current topics and events that relate to them now and their reading comprehension levels should increase as a result. In addition, learning about current events that relate to them will hopefully inspire them to make a difference in the world around them.
The U.S.
Department of Education found that, generally, the more students read for fun on their own time, the higher their reading scores. Between 1984 and 1996, however, the percentage of 12th grade students reporting that they "never" or "hardly ever" read for fun increased from 9 percent to 16 percent. (www.nea.org)
We need to expose our secondary students to a wide variety of complex texts to help improve this statistic! Providing them with these essential materials is very important.
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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 Mrs. Gibbs Dorn and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.