Save the Drama for Your Classroom: A Plethora of Plays
My students need engaging opportunities to practice reading fluency. The Readers Theatre books and 2 grade-level book sets in this grant will give them the gifts of literacy and performance art.
Imagine you are child in fourth grade. Reading fluency is part of your day and frequently assessed. However, reading expressively and understanding what you have read is a challenge for you. What practice options do you have to increase your ability to close that gap between you and your classmates?
My students live in a rural area on the eastern plains of Colorado.
The students are very dedicated to learning and work at rigorous pace to achieve their individual goals. One third of my students are two-language children. They are excited to master both of their languages at a higher level each and every day. One of the challenges at our school is isolation. We are more than two hours away from science museums, art museums and zoos. In a time of budget restrictions, all field trips outside our city limits have been canceled by the school decision makers. Our computer lab does not access the Internet and the only computer in my classroom is the teacher computer. Literacy materials are the resources many of my students depend upon to experience people, cultures and places outside of our part of the world. Background knowledge and reading and math literacy are the key to their academic success.
My Project
The "Readers Theater" resources in this proposal will give students the opportunity to practice reading fluency with their classmates. This collaborative and cooperative effort will provide a fun and engaging format for students to practice reading skills. Increasing their reading rate and accuracy will result in improved reading fluency and comprehension. Once a child becomes a fluent reader, his/her cognitive resources are available to process meaning. The "Readers Theater" resources will provide opportunities for guided oral repeated reading that includes support and feedback from teachers, peers, and parents. The leveled resources will allow me to match reading texts and instruction to individual students. The resources will be used while I am running small reading group rotations at my teaching table. Students will practice independently and with their peers. Students will perform the plays periodically, giving them confidence and a successful reading experience.
"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free." Frederick Douglass said it well.
Fourth grade is a pivotal year for a child. What better skill or gift could you give a child than fluent reading? The Readers Theater materials acquired through this proposal could unlock the door for my students...the door to a lifetime of reading comprehension, to be utilized as a life skill and for enjoyment.
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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 Mrs. Swiatkowski and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.