When we see a small child struggling to balance while putting one foot in front of another, we smile fondly. Yet we rarely think about the physical coordination required for something as "simple" as walking. The key to improvement at any skill is the same: practice! But the sophomores in my English II course do not want to read - in fact, they want to do just about anything else besides reading. We are located in a rural area with several major factories willing to employ high school dropouts. My students don't see reading as necessary, important, or even worthwhile. And they CERTAINLY don't see it as fun.
In order to be prepared for college, students must be able to understand and interpret what they read. And the current research is clear: to become better readers, my students need to READ MORE.
But after completing my class, these students will still have several years before they finish high school. I want them to develop reading as a habit that will stay with them after they leave me. They need to discover the joy in reading - both in the comfort and fun of a familiar adventure story, and in the struggle to understand a work that challenges them. Developing reading as a habit now will sustain them through a lifetime of obstacles and victories.
At the same time, they need to "get it." For many of these students, reading feels like a waste of time, because at the end of the time they've spent looking at words on paper, they can barely remember much of what they read, and in many cases, they don't connect with any of it at all.
The books I've requested for this proposal are ones that are not found in our school library (at least, not at the time I'm writing this). We go every two weeks, but other classes do as well. Having a wide variety of books at different levels in a classroom library will provide a response both to students who "forget" their library books as well as to those who finish early and need something new - and fun! - to read. These books will help them practice the skills they need to excel at reading.
Your support will help these students learn why others say, "Oh, I just LOVED that book!" and to experience that for themselves.
DK Readers: Extreme Machines (Level 4: Proficient Readers) Christopher Maynard
• Barnes and Noble
$3.59
1
$3.59
Jim Thorpe Joseph Bruchac
• Barnes and Noble
$8.09
1
$8.09
Creating the X-Men, How It All Began (Level 4: Proficient Readers), Vol. 4 Cynthia O'Neill (Editor)
• Barnes and Noble
$3.59
1
$3.59
Green Lantern's Book of Great Inventions (DK Readers Series) Clare Hibbert, DK Publishing
• Barnes and Noble
$3.59
1
$3.59
Wonder Woman's Book of Myths DK Publishing Staff, Dorling Kindersley Publishing Staff
• Barnes and Noble
$3.59
1
$3.59
DK Readers: Welcome to the Globe: The Story of Shakespeare's Theatre (Level 4: Proficient Readers), Vol. 4 Peter Chrisp, Linda Martin (Editor)
• Barnes and Noble
$3.59
1
$3.59
Epic Conor Kostick
• Barnes and Noble
$8.99
1
$8.99
Schooled Gordon Korman
• Barnes and Noble
$5.39
1
$5.39
Dragon's Bait Vivian Vande Velde
• Barnes and Noble
$5.35
1
$5.35
Odds Are Good: An Oddly Enough and Odder Than Ever Omnibus Bruce Coville, Jane Yolen (Introduction)
• Barnes and Noble
$6.25
1
$6.25
Cool Stuff 2.0: And How it Works John Woodcock, Chris Woodford
• Barnes and Noble
$19.99
1
$19.99
Brave Robert Lipsyte
• Barnes and Noble
$5.39
1
$5.39
Skulduggery Pleasant (Skulduggery Pleasant Series #1) Derek Landy, Tom Percival (Illustrator)
• Barnes and Noble
$7.19
1
$7.19
I Read It, But I Don't Get It : Comprehension Strategies for Adolescent Readers Cris Tovani, Foreword by Ellin Oliver Keene
• Barnes and Noble
$18.00
1
$18.00
Quaker Summer Lisa Samson
• Barnes and Noble
$7.19
1
$7.19
Materials cost
$109.78
Vendor shipping charges
$10.98
Sales tax
$4.39
3rd party payment processing fee
$2.74
Fulfillment labor & materials
$17.00
Total project cost
$145.00
Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
$31.83
Total project goal
$176.83
How we calculate what's needed
Total project goal
$176.83
7 Donors
-$85.09
Donations toward project cost
-$72.33
Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
-$12.76
match offer
-$85.49
Match offer toward project cost
-$70.10
Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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. C. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.