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.
Teachers read books to students daily written by amazing authors, but why not empower students to be outstanding authors themselves? My first grade class can't wait to be published writers! We are located in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago. While we are a monolingual English-speaking class, many of the students are bilingual and benefit from explicit instruction in English phonics and spelling.
The first grade students in my class are eager to work to become outstanding writers, and would like some supplies to help them along in the process. We do not have enough age-appropriate dictionaries for the students to use while writing. Further, the students do not have a place to record the words they are learning or personal dictionaries that are differentiated for each child. Finally, our publishing process involves using a variety of special writing and drawing materials, but we only have a small tub to house these coveted materials.
To provide the students with dictionaries, I am requesting a word journal for each child. These can be personalized for each student by writing words they use frequently (family member names, places they enjoy, favorite things to do) within the word journal. There are also frequently used word lists that contain words each child will use often, all alphabetized to help teach the children dictionary skills. Finally, the journals contain reference information that will help them remember grammatical rules. These word journals become personal ways for students to create a resource that meets their own needs as writers.
The second material I am requesting is a tabletop writing center. This special center will allow our class to contain our special art materials that are used by our publishing students in a special area of the classroom. Storing our materials for publishing in a specified container will not only make the publishing process more exciting, but it will also help to preserve our materials.
Writing can be a scary and intimidating process for children who come into the school year unsure of how to spell many words or how to write a sentence. With your help, my students will be better able to celebrate being successful authors and publishers, which will be carried with them for years to come.
Nearly all 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
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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. Angie Stewart and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
