My students need 2 sets of novel novels, "Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood" and "Slaughterhouse Five", in order to recharge the reading that is occurring in my classroom. In order to study together, we all need to read the same novel.
Books? What are those? My school, our district and our community are severely lacking in reading materials that my students can take home with them and read in the comfort of their living room. My students need novel sets that are at their level in order to effectively become more literate.
My students are English language learners which means that English is not their first language.
In fact, in my classroom we speak around 31 different languages at any given time. At home my students generally lack access to reading materials in English. When they can get books, they often do not have a parent at home that can help them read the books. This is due to a general lack of funds at the family level and that the family is overall facing more dire needs, like survival. Many of my students families are simply trying to survive on a day to day basis in a country that they are completely new to. Imagine the inability to walk into a store and read where different items are located! That is what it is like for many of my students families.
Thus, as a class we would all like to read the same novel at home so that we can discuss it and understand it as a class. This way the families can continue to focus on their immediate needs while my students focus on their future
My Project
Slaughterhouse Five is an American classic from the 20th century. This book will force my students to think about nonlinear narratives and how the structure/ plot of a book contributes to the author's purpose. Furthermore, this book discusses many different ideas that many of my students have unfortunately experienced in their lives: war, death, disease, the effects of genocide and refugee camps.
Persepolis is a novel that details the experiences of a child as she grows up in Iran. For many of my students the experiences that Persepolis describes will be familiar which will help them become invested in and understand the book. For my students that have not had these experiences, this book will give them a cosmopolitan education as they build their literacy.
Why two different novels? My students are at various reading levels based on when they arrived in the country and have various interests, like all of us. Thus, we need two different novels in order to address their needs.
As a class, my students and I are on a mission to change the trajectory of their lives.
We are on a mission to break the cycle of poverty through education, which means becoming literate at a high level. Slaughterhouse Five and Persepolis, will help my students along the path that we have begun together. My students will ultimately be the stewards of our country's future. Let's make sure they are prepared not only with adequate reading levels but the ability to connect their lives to others.
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. Vail and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.