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
Proficiency in reading comprehension is a necessity for student success in school. Some students need more to survive and thrive outside the walls of the school; they need proficiency and development in both reading and “life” comprehension. School data continues to identify an achievement gap in reading that is highest among African American males that have caused them to self-identify as failures. To counter the negative self-image of my students, and improve their literacy skills, I use culturally relevant texts that affirm the strengths and positive legacies that exist in African American culture.
The goal for my classroom of 14, 8th grade, African American male students is to develop their “Scholar Identity” through culturally relevant literature.
The budget that provides curriculum materials, professional development, computer programs solely focuses on standardized testing initiatives that are disconnected to the “lived” experiences of my students. My classroom is in desperate need of resources that will provide: 1) Culturally Responsive Teaching and lessons that displayed positive Black culture, 3) Critical Literacy-critical thinking about power, inequality, injustice, oppression, 4) Strategies that develop positive scholar and social Identities, and 5) Firsthand experiences with books.
My Project
Many of the strategies, techniques, and computer programs used by teachers to "close the gap," leave my students with a sense of disconnection from teachers, other students, the school, and the language arts/reading curriculum. By participating in the activities in this project my students will develop a positive learning environment that supports their identity as scholars. This activity will also enhance their perceptions as readers of literacy as a social engagement by viewing Black Panther the movie, after reading the graphic novel. My students will also read about "real" African American heroes, the 761st Tank Batallion of WW II, also known as the Black Panthers. In order to change the counterproductive self-images that Black males have developed, they must examine relationships between use of literature and media that positively and/or realistically presents black characters, experiences, resiliency, successes and the academic outcomes of black students.
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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 Mr. Brantley and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.