Our school is a K-5 public elementary school located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Our campus is located near many international technology companies and three major sports organizations. Our students come from very diverse backgrounds; forty-eight percent of our kids receive free and reduced-price meals while 37% are English Language Learners.
My students haven't yet developed a LOVE of reading!
For most of my students, a solid academic foundation will be their only chance to compete in the community where they were born and raised. That foundation is rooted in my students' ability to read analytically and think critically. In 5th grade, fostering their love of reading is the first step to building this critical foundation.
My Project
I have spent the last several years building a wonderful classroom library. Once a weekly basis I haunt thrift stores, yard sales, and used bookstores to build my library. I send home monthly book orders with my students and then buy classroom books with bonus points from their orders. Just try to hold me back when I pass by the bookstore with the word 'sale' in the window! My classroom library contains book sets, author sets, and book series from the 3rd grade reading level to 7th grade, which allows me to support my struggling readers as well as offer challenging reads to my above-grade level readers.
What I lack is an effective way to keep track of the books in my classroom library.
The tablet I am requesting will allow me to scan the ISBN numbers of the books in my library and check out books to my students using those same numbers. This will allow me to document how long books have been in their possession, how many they have out, and track the genre they prefer.
This technology will help me broaden my students' reading practice. I can encourage my students to find new authors and new genres. While documenting their likes and dislikes, I will continue to help them build a stronger reading foundation.
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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. Wysocki and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
