Many of my students are English language learners. They love interacting with peers and with me in the classroom. They are a lively bunch but at the same time, a mass majority of them are wanting to learn. Many of my students come from low income households or are even homeless. The school which they attend is a Title I school that has free breakfast and lunch for every student. With them being from low income, many of their parents work 2-4 jobs to make ends meet which means they don't have the ability to read with their parents sometimes.
My Project
"The One and Only Ivan" is a story about friendship. Friendship is one thing that many students from a Title I school struggle with, especially when those students have jumped from school to school over the last 5 years of their education.
Friendship is learned through experiences and hearing or reading about other's friendships.
Students could see the perspective of a gorilla and how friendship can have so much meaning even with someone who is nothing like you. In this story, Ivan the Gorilla meets a young baby elephant that changes his perspective. His world starts to change because of this one animal. Students can see how it's not just them that struggle with friendship but so do others, no matter what type of person or animal you are.
Students within my classroom are working on fluency, comprehension, and for some basic phonic skills. Having a book that we can read together allows students to practice the fluency and phonic skills. Then they go a step beyond and work with comprehension questions about this book as well as whole class discussions and vocabulary. It also allows them to hear an adult read and follow along on occasion.
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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. Caswell and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
