My students need comfortable places to read in my classroom. Reading while in beanbag chairs will help students see how reading is a joyful and comfy activity.
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
Our students are extremely hard-working recent immigrants from all over the world - the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Mali, Yemen, and many other countries. They all come to our high school in the Bronx with little to no English. Despite this, over the course of four years they are expected to meet the same standards as other Americans who grew up speaking English their entire lives.
Many of the students in our after-school Reading Club are SIFE students - students with interrupted formal education, meaning that they have had very few years of school in their entire lives.
Not only are they learning to speak, read, and write in a second language, they're learning to be literate!
These students are not deterred by these enormous challenges though. They are so motivated to learn to read that they voluntarily stay after school for two hours each week to work with other students to read books!
My Project
I was always able to curl up with a good book as a kid, and I believe that experience is what gave me a joy for reading.
Few of my students, however, have homes where they are surrounded with bookshelves or cozy nooks where they can curl up and read.
These bean bag chairs will transform my room when students come in during Reading Club.
When my 9th graders learn to like (or even love) reading, it makes all the difference in their ability to graduate from high school. Last year students read for two hours sitting in the same metal chairs they had sat in all day. Having bean bag chairs in the classroom will encourage students to come to our Reading Club and stay and read for longer. I know these chairs would be a hit in the 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
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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. Fremstad and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
