Help me give my students the Star Wars Trilogy novel so they can build their literacy skills while experiencing the joy and power of heroic literature.
$556 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
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.
As most teachers feel, I have the most interesting and most inspiring students in the world! I teach all Seniors in Heroic and Epic Literature, which is an elective English class. In other words, seniors get to choose from a variety of English courses for their required senior year English classes, and I get to teach students with an incredibly diverse array of skill levels, which comes with its own set of challenges. Some love reading and writing, while others fear the thought of reading a book or writing an essay.
Since many seniors take my Heroic Literature classes, I am challenged with providing lessons that not only appeal to my Ivy League-bound students, but that also appeal to my students who have only recently learned English or who test at a 3rd-grade reading level.
Also, since my class is a popular one, I typically have at least 30 students in each period, which means that the variety of backgrounds and skill levels combine to make the ultimate challenge for any English teacher. Finally, over 65% of my students fall well below the poverty line and are on the free and reduced lunch program.
My Project
Since my school district has 66% of students on free and reduced lunch (living below poverty line) and 25% test as transitional bilingual (need to learn English upon arrival), teachers like me must find ways to bring students up to speed in regards to academic goals like graduation. Having all seniors, I have found that providing high-interest novels, such as "Star Wars Trilogy" by George Lucas, et. al., increases their success and improves their levels in reading, writing, and analyzing the world around them through themes and character development.
This trilogy provides a stimulating opportunity to link popular culture with classroom learning.
It also bridges the gap between the ancient tradition of storytelling and more customary texts. As an addition to the popular films, students reading the novels get to experience the story in a more personal way that increases their literacy skills as well as connects them to the culture in which they live.
The three original Star Wars novels inspire reluctant readers as well as challenge advanced readers. For all levels, these novels create excitement, inspire interest and further analysis, and link the struggles found in fictional stories to the obstacles students face every day in the real world.
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. Lewis and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.