I teach first grade at a Title One school with over 800 students in grades pre-K to fifth grade. A Title One school means that we have a significant percentage of our school population that require free or reduced lunches. We are an ethnically diverse school with over 50 different languages spoken in the homes of our school community. We also support a large number of students from military families which gives our school a patriotic flavor.
Frederiksen students love being read to.
Classrooms have daily read alouds where different authors, illustrators and genres are explored and students discuss what they liked, what they felt the author's purpose was, and their general thoughts about the book. Students often make connections between the books they hear to things or events in their own lives or in the larger world. These daily read alouds offer reading experiences that transcend a child's socioeconomic background, language, academic abilities or life experiences which is especially important in a Title One school. Daily read alouds give our students an opportunity to share and discuss a reading experience and hopefully develop a love of language and literature along the way.
My Project
The goal of our One School One Book program is twofold. We want to bring our community of learners together over a shared reading experience for fun and we want to encourage and model the importance of reading aloud.
During the month of March all Frederiksen staff and students will read and experience a shared read-a-loud using the novel A Boy Called BAT by Elana Arnold.
Every day there will be daily chapter readings in each classroom by teachers and/or videos of various staff members and/or community leaders reading chapters for students to listen to. Guest readers, our principal, our custodian, and leaders in the community, such as our mayor or school board members may be invited into classrooms to read as well. We want the students to see that reading is important, everyone can enjoy a book and everyone can connect over a shared reading experience. After the daily shared readings, classes have the option of connecting with another grade and or another class using padlet, flip grid or google hangouts (just to name a few) to share their thoughts and ideas about the book. It is a virtual book club where students are able to discuss and share with others that they might not normally connect with.
As part of this project Frederiksen parents will be educated about the importance of reading aloud to their children. Read-aloud programs across the country have proven that reading to children establishes foundational literacy skills by:
• Improving listening comprehension
• Increasing vocabulary
• Providing fluency models
• Promoting conceptual understanding
• Lengthening attention spans
• Creating a positive attitude toward books and reading
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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. Brown and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
