Reading A-Z!

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

I teach second grade at Ryan Elementary in San Jose, CA. I am a Teach For America teacher going into my second year. My students are from predominantly low-income families and resources are scarce. One of the major weaknesses in our school is the lack of books available to students. I entered a classroom last year that had almost no books. I spent countless time and money trying to beg, borrow, and buy books for my students, but of course, this wasn't enough. Research has shown time and time again that one of the most important factors in raising student achievement in reading is exposing them to books at their level. It is extremely challenging to raise student reading levels with so few books available in my school and classroom. Unfortunately, most of my students do not have books at home. About three-quarters of my students enter the second grade far below grade level. This cannot continue! I am asking for your help in accessing the on-line reading program "Reading A-Z" for my students. I first saw Reading A-Z books used in a high-achieving classroom in Oakland, CA. The system is highly effective in raising student reading levels in that the students are proud of these books, engaged in what they are reading, aware of their reading level, and determined to improve and move to the next level. Using Reading A-Z books in my classroom will take an initial investment to set up - and will be well worth it. This is how it works for members: book templates can be printed from the website, copied, assembled, then given to students to read. Let's say a student is at Reading A-Z level G (mid-first grade). That student would receive two or three level G books in a bag. The student is required to read each books at least ten times. Repeated readings improve both reading fluency and comprehension. When the student feels they can read the books perfectly, they read with the teacher and, if they pass, are given new books at the next level. Students keep their old books and build a personal library of books they can read with confidence. On behalf of my students, please, please consider sponsoring these books. Reading A-Z books are VITAL to my reading program next year, and they are absolutely necessary to raise student reading levels. I have seen these books in action; I know they work! I am asking for individual level books from Reading A-Z for all of my students, as well as the following supplies to make this program possible: 1. A subscription to Reading A-Z.com (for one year's unlimited access to book templates) 2. A toner cartridge for our printer (to print the book templates) 3. Paper (on which to print the book templates) 4. Crayons (one box for each student to color their books) 5. Copies at Office Depot (to copy the books for students) Thank you so much!