The cost of library of children's books from Barnes and Noble and the Kaplan Early Learning Company is $569, including shipping and <a target="new" href="http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm" onclick="g_openWindow('http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm', 300, 800, 'fulfillwindow');return false;">fulfillment</a>.
A student in the second grade must move from the beginner reader stage to an independent level. They must be able to use skills that are more complex to build their fluency and comprehension with longer text. Children also need to identify multiple characters and negotiate dialogue to reach these higher levels of understanding.
It can be quite a challenge. But what better way to dive into this ambitious challenge than to be amidst familiar characters that you relate to as a young student?
We all remember fondly our years with Dick and Jane, Make Way for Ducklings, or even Miss Nelson is Missing. These familiar and popular stories provided us with fun and lovable characters that allowed us to make connections and inspired us to read them repeatedly.
Today, book series such as Henry and Mudge and Little Cosby have characters to whom students can relate while having text and dialogue that allows teachers to work on building a strong foundation for independent reading.
Having multiple copies of particular books allows children to have a common experience to share in class. With a supportive environment and a variety of materials, students will move into this stage of reading by exploring these popular texts together. As with any kind of challenging experience, when it feels familiar, one is willing to take more risk.
I co-teach a first and second grade class at E.K. Powe Elementary, which serves a diverse community of 456 kindergarten through fifth grade students from five urban neighborhoods in Durham, North Carolina. Eighty six percent of our students receive a free or reduced lunch, 65 percent of our students are African American, 5 percent are multi-racial, 20 percent speak Spanish as their primary language and 10 percent are of European descent. Daily access to children%u2019s books is limited and often only available in the school environment.
Your support will build a classroom library that allows these children to investigate, revisit and share with their peers books that have recognizable characters and story plots that connect to their lives. In addition, it will be an "open" library that other teachers will be able to borrow from to enrich their own rooms. With these resources, the children can reach higher levels of comprehension and become true independent readers while building a set of their own memorable books and characters.
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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 Ms. Goodhand and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
