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
I teach students in a high-poverty district. Many of the students come from homes in the poverty category. My classroom contains a majority of students who arrived well below level in reading. These students are served by interventionists and receive special services in reading and math. Some students receive services for speech as well. I also have ESOL students in the classroom from time to time. We are required to use computers for quarterly and standardized testing now. In third grade, writing takes an entire day of that testing and students must develop multi-paragraph essays to be considered a third grade writer.
With such a large number of students who struggle with reading and writing, it is important to help students develop writing skills by exposing them to examples in engaging text.
The fiction and nonfiction books I have chosen for this project will be used as mentor texts to help students to become more detailed writers.
My Project
I use mentor texts to introduce, reinforce and give examples of strong writing traits. Third graders can learn sequencing through Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad day. The book, Amazing Grace gives a great example of characterization.
We need books such as Owl Moon, The Relatives Came and Enemy Pie to give students an understanding of ways to add details to "show" and not "tell" a story.
I will use these mentor texts to promote a joy of reading while explaining ways authors make writing more interesting. Most books can be used in a variety of lessons.
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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 Mrs. Saunders and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
