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
My students enjoy reading. They are anxious each day to choose a read aloud and will beg for the chance. While one student picks a book to read, the others can not help giving suggestions and recommending favorites. It seems the same books get picked again and again.
My students are growing up in the city, and most of them have a very limited library at home.
If they have books, only a few of them are read to at bedtime. I grew up with bedtime stories every night and devoured favorite series of chapter books. Because my students don't all have these opportunities at home, I want to ensure that they have every chance to read and to be read to at school. The books that most excite my students have been read and reread so many times that pages are ripping and the bindings are coming loose.
My Project
My students like to read these books to one another. They play teacher, and sit in my chair, retelling the stories to their classmates. Daily, I'm asked to read one of the books by David Shannon, and I've memorized the text to even some of the longest stories on this list. We've enjoyed getting to know Junie B. Jones, and my class will be excited to add three more books to our collection. We read a chapter each day before lunch. Already we've fallen in love with Mercy Watson, and flew through the first book about her. My students will love reading these new stories on CD at the listening station. Books are treasures to my students, and I am so glad. The children feel ownership for our classroom collection the same way that I cherished the books on my bookshelf as a child.
I can not describe to you the excitement that my students and I will feel as we open a box holding these books, should you choose to send them our way.
Please consider donating to this project. My students love reading, and I want to expand and refresh our collection of beloved stories. They'll be more anxious than ever to choose the read aloud, and each day they will beg for just one more story or just one more chapter. Let's give them that.
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. McLees and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.