Relatable Read Aloud: Characters That Look and Talk Like Me!
Help me give my students stories with relatable characters/content and learn and critical life skills through read aloud books, as well as cover basic classroom essentials.
I am a first grade teacher for 20 of the squirmiest, loudest, and strongest kiddos out there. Our days are filled with singing, laughing, learning, an inexplicable number of broken pencils and a whole lot of energy.
The students at my school are highly trauma impacted.
Our school is a Title I school, meaning over half the families it serves come from low-income households. Twenty-five percent of students are English Language Learners, ninety-three percent are from low-income households, and one-hundred percent receive free or reduced lunch. Despite these obstacles, my students are loving, ambitious, and excited about learning.
My Project
My classroom is very diverse this year. Over half of my first graders are African-American, five come from Spanish-speaking families, two are from Nepal and one student just moved from Mongolia. Everyone looks forward to our daily read aloud story, but unfortunately most of the books in our classroom feature characters that are not from any of these backgrounds.
I believe my students should see and hear stories during read aloud that are representative of their cultures and remind them of their own families/homes.
In addition, due to lack of school funds our classroom is lacking some basic supplies such as dry erase board markers (part of our daily math work!), construction paper and tissue paper that are all essential to a functioning first grade classroom.
Nearly all 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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