Every child deserves to start on an even playing field. Many people might take for granted the fact that they entered school knowing shapes, colors, numbers and even some letters. This is not the case for my students, as very few speak English and have not been exposed to these basic skills.
I work at at rural school, that is also a Title 1 school.
That means that my students are low income and many or on free and reduced lunch. To theses families, food and shelter are the top priorities. The majority of my students are ESOL and have had very limited exposure to English. Even though the rest of my students were born speaking English, their language skills are very poor and they need as many opportunities to be exposed to different types of language and literacy. The majority of my students have not been read to on a regular basis and have not been exposed to books. To enable my students to meet on a level playing field their peers that live in different areas and have had different experiences, they need a variety of language and literacy opportunities. This includes a variety of books including fiction and non-fiction, fairy tales and rhyme and repetition. They should also be exposed to books that provide real life pictures and illustrations that they can relate to.
My Project
The big books I am requesting focus on colors and shapes. The illustrations in these books are big and bold. The text is a also very simple and easier for my students to comprehend. The books are set to the tune of popular children's songs that some children may be familiar with. In my class, I introduce and use children's songs, nursery rhymes and rhyming. This helps the children learn to read along and sing. This helps to develop fluency and shape and color words. These books will introduce the different colors and shapes and give examples of each. They will also expose my students to language skills such as rhyming, and letter and sound recognition. These books will enable my students to verbally identify colors and shapes and sort them accordingly.
Children are expected to know certain things when they enter Kindergarten.
Now in Kindergarten, children are learning to read. In order to succeed and be ready to learn the Kindergarten curriculum, these students need these basic skills. If they do not have these basic skills, they are behind and that time that should be spent furthering their language skills, is instead spent on learning the basic skills. With these materials my students can be on the same playing field as their peers that have had these vital experiences.
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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 Ms. Stevens and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.