Help me give my students books to learn English both in spoken norms (grammar, sentence structure, verb noun agreement, and vocabulary) and in literary norms (decoding, reading comprehension, and language conventions) so fluency in English is achievable!
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.
My Students
My Students
BRAVE and resilient is how I would describe my students.
They are strong, determined, and eager to learn. ALL of my students are newcomers to the USA and are building a new life in an urban public school in the city of St. Louis. I teach ELA, Music, and introcuctory English to these diverse teens who come from all over the world. Some kids have never been to school, and some have had their learning disrupted because of living in war torn areas. Some are escaping profound poverty and/or violence, but regardless of where they have come from or what they have experienced, they all have a unique story to tell and wish to be happy and succesful.
The challenges my kids face every day are daunting, but our learning community is one of empowerment and acceptance. The challenge for me as a teacher is to meet those brilliant teen minds full of complex and nuanced abilities and provide them the skills they need to function in an English speaking society where they are expected to learn, communicate, and share in English.
My Project
Every minute of every school day is an opportunity to build reading and speaking skills.
This guided reading library allows me to put beautifully designed books into the hands of my students that will focus on specific skills students need to master, like short vowel sounds.
Because these students are currently taking high school-level courses, language and reading skills are a critical contributor to their literacy and success.
There is nothing more amazing to see than the growth of these kids as they master reading, develop strong vocabularies, and become capable of expressing complex thoughts and feelings with others in English!
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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. Telaar and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.