My Students Are Falling in Love with Reading! - Part II
My students need high-interest books such as The Maze Runner, Monster, and The Crossover, so they can continue on their path to become lifelong readers!
$548 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
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 are falling in love with reading. The love is palpable. When my students are reading independently in my classroom, you can easily hear a pin drop. Oftentimes, the hardest part of my day is asking students to stop reading so I can start the lesson for the day.
It wasn’t always like this, however.
I used to have to fight a whole lot of whining and complaining. Students used to nod off, stare blankly at a random page, or even throw paper balls at each other when they didn’t think I was looking. So how did we get here? How did so many of my students go from being self-described non-readers to falling head over heels? The answer is simple: high-interest books. They have become enamored with a specific book, and it's opening the floodgates. I want to keep the momentum going. I teach at an urban school. Many of my students face structural barriers that come with living in a high-poverty neighborhood; many have overcome impossible adversities and continue to fight against incredible odds. Yet, every single day, they inspire me. They move me to tears with their prose, impress me with their commitment to a sport, and enlighten me as cultural and linguistic ambassadors. I am humbled and grateful that I am their teacher and they are mine.
My Project
Research shows that when students read regularly for pleasure, they will see steady growths in their reading levels, ultimately resulting in higher chances of academic success. For this reason, I strongly believe in pedagogical practices such as the SSR (Sustained Silent Reading) that provide students with opportunities to read for fun and help foster a love of reading. The problem, however, is that there just aren't enough high-interest books at my site to accommodate all of our students for a sustained period of time. Although as a school we are making great strides towards establishing a culture of reading on campus, we are a small charter school and lack a proper library. Moreover, many of my students complain that their parents are too busy working to take them to the local library or that even when they do manage to go, the popular young adult titles are often checked out and unavailable.
I need your help to purchase the books that have been requested by my students.
When students read self-selected titles, they take ownership of not just the books but of stronger reader identities. By reading everyday, they begin to *see* themselves as readers. My students deserve these books. They deserve the gift of reading. Through reading, they can soar to the vantage point where they can imagine alternative narratives of their lives and better versions of our world.
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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. Chung and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.