My students need a heavy duty pencil sharpener in the classroom. They also need Spanish nonfiction books to keep improving their reading and writing skills.
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.
My Students
Reading and writing are at the core of our Spanish immersion First grade classroom. The students, an adorable, bright, and eclectic bunch, feel more comfortable speaking, reading, and writing in English. My challenge is to help them develop their Spanish literacy skills, especially writing.
Our elementary school is a Title 1 school, which, among other things, provides all children who attend our school with a free lunch everyday.
Our school serves students from the surrounding community as well as a large percentage of permit students from nearby neighborhoods. As a result, our students come from different social, economic, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds. Our school is unique in that it has five Special Education classes, preschool to sixth grade, for students with learning disabilities and autism. We also have a Resource Specialist Program (RSP) that serves students who have been identified as having mild disabilities and/or learning difficulties, but who are primarily included in general education classes. Approximately 25% of our students are identified as Special Needs students. Our school offers a 50/50 dual language program, where all students learn English and Spanish.
My Project
The second half of First Grade is exciting. The light bulbs go on and the students who didn't begin reading and writing during the first months, do so after February or March. From this point on, the writing process takes an even more important part of the curriculum. Students use thinking maps for brainstorming, and learn how to edit their work. My challenge is to get my students to go through the writing process independently, towards the end of the school year. A heavy duty pencil sharpener in the classroom will ensure that our pencils are always sharp and ready to help us meet our challenge! To become better writers, my students need to read. A class set of nonfiction books will help them develop their expository writing skills. They will see how authors present the main idea and add details, a skill my students will be able to use in their writing.
A heavy duty pencil sharpener in the classroom will save a considerable amount of time.
Rather than spending my recess and/or lunch breaks collecting pencils to sharpen at the main office, this will be done during class, saving time for more creative pursuits. A set of nonfiction books will provide my students with background knowledge on a variety of topics, and expository writing examples.
More than a third of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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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. Albela-Silver and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
