At the Mendell School, we believe we have the best students in the city of Boston! Each day our students come to school eager to learn and participate in activities. They are curious little learners with lots to share!
Our student population is extremely diverse.
We work with students and families from a variety of racial, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds. We are also an inclusive school community which means we educate students with and without disabilities together in the same classroom.
Our students love books! We are hoping to outfit our first grade classrooms with guided reading libraries that reflect the diversity we see in our communities on a daily basis. All of our first graders participate in daily guided reading groups and have the opportunity to take home books to read with family each night. These materials will allow our students to continue to develop a love for reading while seeing themselves in the text they read!
My Project
These books will allow the students in our first grade classrooms to see themselves in the books we use for guided reading. Before creating this project, we had the opportunity to inventory the books in our classrooms and make observations about who is represented and whose voice is left out of our current collection. Students were very engaged in this process and excited to sort and catalog the books in our current classroom libraries. In doing so, students were able to see that not all voices are equally represented. We were able to look at different websites and determine what kinds of books would fill the gaps we identified.
We need these materials so that all students are able to see themselves as readers, writers, and thinkers and all students feel represented in our community.
In addition to using these books during small-group guided reading lessons, students will be able to take these books home in their take-home bags to share with their families.
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. Walters and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.