Turning Students into Bookworms

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.

My Students

1 book, 2 books, 3 books, help us get more! Dr. Seuss, Eric Carle, and Cynthia Rylant are just a few of my students' favorite authors. Weekly students fill their boxes and baggies with a couple of books. It brings me great joy to see a love of reading developing at such an early age.

I teach first grade at a low-income Chicago Public School.

In my class, there are 26 students: 12 girls and 14 boys. Of those students, there are four with special needs and four more in need of special education services. Students are supposed to come to me reading level D books. However, many of them were behind. Some even came reading at a level A. Additionally, I have three students on the opposite end of the spectrum, who are performing academically above grade level. Therefore, the class is comprised of students below level, at level, and above level. I consult and work with other faculty members in order to help students reach the guided reading level of J/K by the end of the year. Also, I want to keep pushing the higher students to read even more challenging books at levels K, L, and M by the end of the year. Our budget is tight so additional resources are hard to come by. The students are eager to learn and do well, but this is hard to do with such a limited supply of books.

My Project

I need your help! Most of the children in my class are English Language Learners (ELLs) so building vocabulary is essential to their success. Additionally, I need to build up their background knowledge seeing that many of them aren't exposed to much due to their families' lack of funds. In order to build vocabulary and background knowledge, we need a supply of non-fiction books that encompass a variety of subjects. Also, it's important to build students' comprehension. Conquering setting, plot, problem, and solution is done best using fiction. Therefore, the books I am requesting are both fiction and non-fiction. Let me explain reading levels. Students are given a book which they have to read to the teacher, then answer questions about the reading. Students have to read fluently and answer the questions. If they can, then they move up to the next letter book. First graders should start at D book, then be able to read level J books by the end of the year.

Literacy is such an important component of our lives.

My students are eager to learn. They want to reach their goals of becoming doctors, scientists, teachers, oceanographers, dentists, and more. In order to do so, they need to be able to read fluently and understand what they are reading. Your donation will fill their book boxes and baggies. They will gain more background knowledge, which will help them decode unknown words and understand stories better. And it will be because of you!