My students need a read-along listening center, two sets of Spanish read-along books, and two sets of the Spanish paperback classroom library to improve their Spanish literacy skills.
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
In our First Grade Spanish immersion, reading is fundamental!
Our elementary school is a Title 1 school, which, among other things, provides all children who attend with a free lunch everyday.
Our school serves students from the surrounding community as well as a large percentage of permit students from nearby neighborhoods. As a result, our students come from different social, economic, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds.
Our school is unique in that it has five Special Education classes, preschool to sixth grade, for students with learning disabilities and autism. We also have a Resource Specialist Program (RSP) that serves students who have been identified as having mild disabilities and/or learning difficulties, but who are primarily included in general education classes. Approximately 25% of our students are identified as Special Needs students.
Our school offers a 50/50 dual language program, where all students learn English and Spanish. Many of our first graders come from non-Spanish speaking homes.
My Project
My students are Spanish language learners and their abilities range from fluent readers to beginning speakers. Some of my students can read in Spanish but they lack vocabulary and/or fluency. To fully benefit from the dual immersion experience, my students need to build their Spanish language and literacy skills to an academic level. This wide range in their abilities is challenging, considering that I am the only teacher in the classroom. I have no assistant. My students need a listening center with Spanish read-along books, and a Spanish classroom library to improve their Spanish literacy skills.
A reading and listening center would allow groups of students the opportunity to listen and read books in Spanish at their level. Students will be able to develop reading skills at their own pace and level in a fun and engaging way. Students will practice and develop new vocabulary. While a group of students practice reading in the reading and listening center, I will work with another group of students in a small setting, to meet their particular instructional needs.
A reading/listening center will enable my students to practice reading in Spanish and develop new vocabulary.
As literacy skills transfer between languages, their English reading will improve as a result. In addition, the reading and listening center will allow me to work with my students in small groups that meet their individual needs.
More than a third of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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. Albela-Silver and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
