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This teacher needs your help!

Ms. May from Phoenix IL is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Ms. May is requesting

Our History Needs To Be Told

My students need 35 copies of Sharon Draper's "Copper Sun".

  • $410 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Celebrate Black Teachers and Students

This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.

African-American history is priceless. We have endured so much pain, agony, and heartache and the students of the 21st century cannot identify with our ancestors. They cannot understand the fight that was won for them to freely be citizens of the United States of America. I am currently a 7th grade English teacher in Illinois. Our student population is predominantly African-American and our students are yearning to learn about their past. We are in a high-need community where most of our students are on free and reduced lunch and many students are from single parent homes.

Slavery, although more than 200 years ago, still paints an ugly picture in the lives of African-Americans in the United States today. Our youth are only slightly aware of the grim reality of slavery. They have no connection to the fight, to the struggle, to the hopes and dreams lost due to slavery. My students' motivation is very low. It has been a rough year trying to engage students in the material. I have taught "Copper Sun", a story of a young girl taken from her home in Africa and sold in America as a slave, in a summer program where the students were highly engaged in the text. It moved them past the words on the page and hit them right at the core of their existence. It hit their hearts.

Sharon Draper's "Copper Sun" will benefit my students' motivation to learn and to actively engage in a text. With this book, I plan to implement many activities and hands-on projects to bring the text to life. For example, a trip to Chicago's Dusable Museum, a museum dedicated to African/African-American life, to view the slavery exhibit would be a great way for them to not only read about the journey on the Middle Passage, but see for themselves how horrible the journey from Africa to America was.

With the help of Donorschoose.org, I will be able to empower my students with an understanding of their roots. The famous poet Maya Angelou states, "History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again." The empowerment of knowing your past is indescribable and takes alot of courage and I want to give that power and courage to my students to share with the world around them.

Ms. May
Grades 6-8

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
Copper Sun Sharon M. Draper • Barnes and Noble $8.09 35 $283.15

Materials cost

$283.15

Vendor shipping charges

 $28.32

Sales tax

 $0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$7.08

Fulfillment labor & materials

$17.00

Total project cost

$336.00

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$73.76

Total project goal

$409.76

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $409.76

1 Donor

-$395.29

Donations toward project cost

-$336.00

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$59.29

Excluded support for DonorsChoose

-$14.47

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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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. May and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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