This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
The students I have the privilege to teach are culturally diverse with various academic, behavioral, emotional, and social needs. Before the pandemic, I was teaching two 4th grade classes and a 5th grade class where I was seeing around 70 students every day. For the upcoming school year, I will be teaching one fifth grade class for all subject areas. It is my duty to meet their needs, be flexible, and see that I deliver interactive and engaging instructional material to keep them engaged, especially during distance learning.
The coronavirus pandemic hit our already fragile school community with a great force.
It impacted my students' personal lives, academic abilities, socialization, and their technology needs. As much as I would want to think every student of mine has a productive workspace at home, I know that my students face challenges that may distract them from performing at their very best due to possible technical issues, responsibilities at home, and not having the stability to be at home if other family members are impacted by the virus (due to their own health or job). Through district lender Chromebooks, many students have been able to connect to Google Classroom to fulfill academic assignments.
My Project
In light of current events happening in today's society such as COVID-19 and racial equality protests, I feel a strong and urgent need to equip my school library with multicultural picture books. This, in turn, will provide my students with various perspectives that are crucial for communicating with people of various backgrounds.
By using these materials, I want to surround my students with informative and culturally relevant books that spark conversations and forge unity in my classroom.
I strive to help all of my students see themselves in my classroom. It is vital that multicultural education starts as soon as possible in a classroom setting and these materials will help young children recognize their personal value, as well as acknowledge others.
Although it is still unclear as to how instruction will be implemented in the fall, I want my students to have access to multicultural stories in or out of the classroom. If we are still online, I can use the picture books for a read-aloud through Google Meets, record myself reading the story and assign ELA comprehension assignments on Google Classroom, or create a compare and contrast assignment for two or more stories. By sharing these stories with my students, it will start dialogues that other school-issued materials may not. It will also create a stronger class community, allow students to develop multiple perspectives compared to their own, and promote cultural representation for multiple racial and ethnic backgrounds.
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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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. Pierresaint and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
