Do you remember what it was like to sit in a parent's lap and have a favorite story read to you? My students have never experienced that. They come from high-poverty, low-literacy homes where books and computers are non-existent. It is my job to nurture in them a love for reading and writing...
I have a class of 34 Spanish-speaking 3rd graders.
Some have lived here in New York all their lives, but consider their parents' birth country to be their "home." The language they speak most comfortably, and the one they have heard since infancy, is Spanish. Others were born in South or Central America, or the Caribbean. Most emigrated to New York years ago, but continue to speak Spanish at home and with their friends.
Finally, several of my students have just arrived within the last few months! Some of them never attended school in their home countries, and most of their parents are illiterate in Spanish.
In our class, I struggle to meet the needs of students at varying levels of Spanish and English proficiency, at varying skill levels, and with varying learning styles. My goal is to teach them how to think, how to defend their points of view, how to have meaningful discussions, and how to appreciate their education.
But in June they must pass a reading/writing test in English.
My Project
We are a Title I school with access to very few materials. My students don't have their own text or workbooks; we most often work with copies, and share one book among a group of students. I need an ELMO document camera to project papers and books onto a screen so that students can better see and share bilingual teaching materials. With an ELMO, materials are placed under the lamp for the entire classroom community to see in vivid detail and color. The ELMO is a great tool to bring a group of students together, to inspire them to love words, and to improve their proficiency as writers and as readers - in Spanish and in English. To improve writing skills, I can model good writing in real-time, help students share and peer-edit their own work, and use technology to demonstrate the benefits of drafts and proofreading. To improve reading comprehension, I can make texts accessible, model fluency via read-alouds, and demonstrate how to annotate reading material to improve comprehension.
Your donation will help a class of smart, sweet, and funny third-graders become more engaged and excited about reading and writing.
You will directly affect their ability to master English. And most important, you will make their little hearts sing, knowing that adults exist in this world who think that they are important and worthy little people.
Thank you. Thank you for considering this project to help bring technology, and thus the world itself, into my inner-city classroom.
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
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 Ms. Scronic and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.