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.
I teach both AVID and ESL to 9th, 10, and 11th grade students from all over the world, including many refugee students. My school is located in an extremely high crime-rate neighborhood and over 90% of the students are on free lunch. My students do not speak using standard English usage.
There is no money for supplies in a school district which has suffered severe budget setbacks for any type of additional reading materials. Fortunately, about one month ago, I received a package from a donor including an entire classroom set of Stephanie Meyer's novel Twilight. I felt sure my students would enjoy reading the novel. Unfortunately, I was so correct in my assessment of their wants that they are now begging me, daily I might add, for the second book in the series New Moon. Every class, I hear, "Miss, when will we get to read the next book?" I have no answer for their question. Many of my students have never read an entire novel on their own prior to Twilight and they are so engrossed in completing this novel that I have to remind them to please put the book down so we are able to work on other activities.
I would love to have a classroom set of Stephanie Meyer's novel New Moon as well as an audio compact disk of the novel. My students recently took the SAT and realized that they are significantly lacking in vocabulary development. This novel will help them in so many ways. My AVID students all want to go to college which is why they were all recommended for the AVID program. AVID is a college preparatory class enlisting students who have a strong desire to succeed, but are in the middle range despite their intrinsic motivation. My students need the confidence which will be improved by the fact that if they were able to complete that huge book, now they are able to read anything! Additionally, the vocabulary in the novel is of a high enough level that many SAT words are embedded in the story. This secretly disguises the fact that the students are actually completing the gruesome task of learning SAT words (YUCK!). Most importantly, my students are developing a love for reading which is so strong that they will be able to carry it with them forever. To reach their dreams of college success, my students need to increase their vocabularies and learn to love reading!
With your help, we will be able to influence the next generation and offer them much needed assistance so they are able to escape from the poverty in which they live. We will be able to offer them a love of learning which is so important and which they will carry with them for the remainder of their lives. My students were born into a bad situation, but they have chosen a different path in life. They have few role models. They have no one to help them with their homework when they arrive home each night. You will be able to provide them a book which they are able to connect with and one in which they feel very passionately about. They can and they will all go to college and you will provide them with a book which inspires them.
More than three‑quarters 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
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