Roots 100!

My Students

"Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light." ~Vera Nazarian

In 2016, our school is coming together towards one collective goal, to read 100 million words by June.

Each of my 8th graders is contributing to this campaign with a word goal to build literacy into their lives and daily learning. However, many are still struggling to find books that capture their interest and imagination. With only 30% of my 8th graders reading and writing at grade-level, I am committed to providing my students with the resources they need to develop their literacy levels. Currently, my students' reading levels range from 300 (multiple years below grade-level) to 1100 (above grade-level) based on a computer-adaptive reading comprehension test that assesses student reading levels and growth. To support each of them individually, I need a classroom library with books that are at their level and engaging.

My Project

Each day, I hold 30 minutes of independent reading with my advisory students to increase their reading levels and meet our Roots 100 goal. While reading is important to all of us, it is difficult for many of my students to find high-interest books at their lexile level in my classroom library. After having mini-conferences with each of my students, I found out more about book themes and authors they are interested, and I began compiling a list of books I wanted for my library. I also added some of my own middle-school favorites and a few culturally-relevant books (e.g African-American history, Spanish/Hispanic heritage). With a revamped library, I hope to encourage my students to read books they enjoy as they work towards their word goals.

Literacy is the foundation of all learning, and as a math teacher, I want to ensure my students are able to apply their problem-solving skills both inside and outside the classroom.

To do that, I am committed to making sure the 70% of my students reading below grade level are developing their reading and writing skills each day. I hope that filling my library with books that capture their imagination and interest will help us get one step closer to that goal.