I did it! I just wrapped up my first year teaching 5th grade at a Title I school, including six weeks of summer intervention for students who needed extra support. It was one of the most difficult but rewarding years of my professional life. I love teaching. No matter how challenging the day, I drove home with my bucket filled.
After reflecting on what worked and didn't in my classroom, I realize I need to create more of a reading culture this year.
I have a wide range of readers—newcomers just learning English through high school level. While my ENTIRE class had significant growth in math, I did not see the same growth in reading I wanted among my struggling readers. I want to up my game.
I inherited a classroom library and realized that it was difficult for my students to find "just right" books they were interested in. It was an old library with dated books and only a handful of graphic novels. This will help me create a robust, revamped classroom library with more books for my struggling, RELUCTANT readers. I want to add crowd-pleasers at various reading levels and replace well-loved books that are tattered and torn. I've already found several books at my local library's gently used sale, but this will round it out.
Research shows that a well-curated classroom library can help students develop reading skills and increase motivation. Students with access to books in their classrooms tend to have higher reading achievement, better comprehension, and increased vocabulary.
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