I teach middle school Language Arts and History on the west end of Alameda, California. Of all of the schools in which I have worked over the past 20 years, this is truly the most diverse. We are a Title I qualifying school, with students from all walks of life. About half of our students are considered socioeconomically disadvantaged, and we serve one of the Bay Area's largest communities of homeless/transitional families; these kids sit side by side with the children of tech industry professionals with million-dollar Alameda homes. There is no ethnic or racial majority at our school - every classroom is a reflection of our close-knit, multi-cultural community.
My Project
Our seventh graders participate in Literature Circles, in which they get to choose a novel to read and discuss with a small group. The novels currently available for them to choose explore the theme of coping with loss, through the genre of fantasy or science fiction. But while our Lit Circle library includes excellent novels such as A Wrinkle In Time and The Giver, these are older titles that in many cases our students have already read.
The novels chosen for this project will update our Lit Circle library with fresh titles, while sticking to the theme of dealing with grief and loss.
The new books include the two most recent Newberry Award winners, as well as other young adult novels written in the 21st Century.
In addition to using the novels for Lit Circles, these books will enjoy a second life as part of a middle school book club. Four years ago I began a monthly, lunch-time book club for middle schoolers using books from a DonorsChoose.org project. (Thank you!) That group continued meeting for three years (!), and at one point even morphed into a lunchtime cupcake wars bake-off. Next year, I'd like to start the club back up with a new group of interested students, and having a fresh set of titles will help that go a long way.
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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 Mr. Parodi and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
