Hi! I teach 6th grade Language Arts and Social Studies to two different groups of students. So, I see a group of about 27 students for three 45-minute periods, then they move to my teaching partner for the next three periods, and the students she had for periods 1-3 come to me for the final three periods of the day. The great thing about teaching this way is I really get to build relationships with a small group of students in a middle school setting, which is not always the case in middle schools. Our school is in a suburb of Portland, Oregon, where the student body is made up of students from many different races and social backgrounds.
We enjoy rich discussions about their lives, and often compare the way we live now to the civilizations we study, and the characters we read about in books.
They really seem to thrive during these discussions that only good literature can provide. I just love seeing life and studying society through their eyes and more importantly, through their young, developing minds!
My Project
Many of the novel sets in my school are great books, but, there is a real absence of novels featuring strong, female characters -- let alone, strong, female characters of another race and culture. So, when someone recommended The Breadwinner to me and I read it, I knew it was exactly what I was looking for!
I want to bring this literary experience alive for my students, and I plan to use this novel with students for years to come!
The Breadwinner is about a young Afghan girl who is forced to pretend she is a boy so she can go into the local village and earn money for her family after her father has been taken away without explanation. There are too many great things about reading this novel with students for me to name here.
I need each of my students to have their own book to read, so they can bring the books to and from school with ease.
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. Dwyer and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
