I teach English to 9th and 11th graders in a very small, rural high school. In total, we have right at 400 students in our entire high school, grades 9-12. Being from such a rural area means that we have fewer funds available for purchasing classroom materials than many schools in Virginia.
I want my students to have access to materials that will help make learning engaging, memorable, and hands-on.
I don't want them to suffer or miss out on learning opportunities be cause of where they live. They deserve the very best!
My Project
There is nothing more important or powerful that I can give to my students, as their English teacher, than a love for reading. They deserve to experience these timeless stories and to be able to hold them in their hands. My students are able to make a much more personal and meaningful connection to a story when they are able to hold a copy in their own hands instead of having to read it projected onto a screen with the rest of their classmates.
The reading and studying of literature has the power to bring people of all different times and backgrounds together.
As such, my 9th graders will be reading Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Believe it or not, if taught correctly, students today can still love and appreciate this play! By providing students with a copy of
No Fear Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the typical fear and dread of reading Shakespeare diminishes. These students are able to read the modern translation, allowing them to understand and enjoy the story, while continuing to study and appreciate Shakespeare's original language at the same time.
My 11th graders will be studying American Literature. John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is a timeless story and the themes are so relevant and important even today. My students always appreciate this short novel and empathize with the characters and their struggles. This past year I had to print out a class set of the PDF of the story that I found online. While it worked, anyone who has a love for books knows that it's not the same. Again, I want my students to be able to hold these books in their hands and appreciate and love them.
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