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Mrs. Nickerson from Minerva OH is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

Unlocking the Author's Craft- Part 3

My students need 45+ high quality literature titles to study in Reader's Workshop and Writer's Workshop.

  • $517 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

My Students

A mentor is someone who models, coaches, and lifts another to higher level. In a similar way, mentor texts model, coach, and lift students' writing to a higher level. We are in need of exemplary, beautifully written, engaging, rich texts to study. Please help us crack open the author's craft!

My school is considered "high poverty", and many students come from disadvantaged homes.

As someone who came from a disadvantaged background, I feel motivated, every day, to set high expectations for my students. I believe that every child can learn, and every child can succeed if we give them the tools they need to soar to new heights. Through rigorous lessons, inquiry-based learning, and a simulated virtual United States tour, I strive to provide my students with the best I can give. That, of course, involves a whole lot of love, sweat, and tears. It also takes a lot of my own money. Our school is not able to provide teachers with ANY money to buy materials. In fact, we may not be able to go on any field trips beginning next year due to funding deficits. (It's a sad reality.) Please help me to provide my students with high quality books that will help them become better readers and writers! Thank you in advance!

My Project

My third grade students learn how to write personal narratives, fiction, essays, nonfiction "All-About" books, memoirs, literary responses, and reviews during their time in my classroom. Primarily, I use Lucy Calkin's "Units of Study" to guide my instruction. In Writer's Workshop, the students are explicitly taught skills and concepts through mini-lessons. They are carefully scaffolded to begin independent writing, and they are given opportunities for peer review and collaboration throughout each unit. At the end of each unit of study, the students participate in an Author's Celebration that celebrates their growth and proficiency as writers. The Writer's Workshop hinges on the use of high-quality mentor texts. Students use mentor texts to learn about word choice, white space, the placement of words on each page, conventions, rhythm, cadence, powerful leads, strong endings, and dialogue. Mentor texts also teach students how to evoke a response from readers and make an impact.

Not only will the books requested in this project greatly impact my students' writing, it will also directly impact reading instruction.

During Reading Workshop, the students learn how to use their schema (or background knowledge), infer, make connections, determine importance, synthesize, use metacognition, make predictions, and visualize as they read. In my experience, these reading strategies GREATLY improve comprehension and engagement. Quality literature yields in-depth studies and great results!

Mrs. Nickerson
Grades 3-5

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TEACHERS, FEELING INSPIRED?

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Where Your Donation Goes

Materials Cost Quantity Total
Allison Allen Say • AKJ BOOKS $5.93 1 $5.93
Emma's Rug Allen Say • AKJ BOOKS $6.83 1 $6.83
Stranger in the Mirror Allen Say (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $5.93 1 $5.93
Home of the Brave Allen Say, Allen Say (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $14.53 1 $14.53
Tight Times Barbara Shook Hazen, Trina Schart Hyman (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $5.12 1 $5.12
Mary Celeste: An Unsolved Mystery from History Jane Yolen, Heidi E. Y. Stemple, Roger Roth (Illustrator), Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple • AKJ BOOKS $5.97 1 $5.97
The Old Woman Who Named Things Cynthia Rylant, Kathryn Brown (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $5.98 1 $5.98
El Chino Allen Say • AKJ BOOKS $5.93 1 $5.93
Gleam and Glow Eve Bunting, Peter Sylvada (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $5.98 1 $5.98
Train to Somewhere Eve Bunting, Ronald Himler (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $6.83 1 $6.83
Alia's Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq Mark Alan Stamaty • AKJ BOOKS $6.83 1 $6.83
Sign Painter Allen Say, Allen Say (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $14.53 1 $14.53
Two of Them Aliki, Aliki (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $5.97 1 $5.97
Color Me a Rhyme: Nature Poems for Young People Jane Yolen, Jason Stemple (Photographer) • AKJ BOOKS $7.48 1 $7.48
Something Beautiful Sharon Dennis Wyeth, Sharon Dennis Wyeth (Illustrator), Chris K. Soentpiet (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $5.97 1 $5.97
Fables Arnold Lobel, Arnold Lobel (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $5.97 1 $5.97
The Table Where Rich People Sit Byrd Baylor, Peter Parnall (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $5.97 1 $5.97
The War Between the Vowels and the Consonants Priscilla Turner, Whitney Turner (Illustrator), Whitney Turner (Photographer) • AKJ BOOKS $6.83 1 $6.83
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World Marjorie Priceman, T. Gates (Editor) • AKJ BOOKS $5.97 1 $5.97
The Harmonica Tony Johnston, Ron Mazellan (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $13.76 1 $13.76
Soul Looks Back in Wonder Various, Tom Feelings (Editor), Tom Feelings (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $6.83 1 $6.83
A Drop of Water Walter Wick • AKJ BOOKS $12.30 1 $12.30
Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! Jack Prelutsky, Lane Smith (Illustrator), Dr. Seuss (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $11.62 1 $11.62
Freedom Summer Deborah Wiles, Jerome Lagarrigue (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $6.83 1 $6.83
Chasing Vermeer Blue Balliett, Brett Helquist (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $11.59 1 $11.59
Zoom Istvan Banyai • AKJ BOOKS $6.83 1 $6.83
The Other Side Jacqueline Woodson, E. B. Lewis (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $11.61 1 $11.61
The Red Book Barbara Lehman • AKJ BOOKS $12.81 1 $12.81
Free Fall, Vol. 1 David Wiesner, David Wiesner (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $5.97 1 $5.97
Tuesday David Wiesner, David Wiesner (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $6.83 1 $6.83
Sector 7 David Wiesner, David Wiesner (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $13.68 1 $13.68
Follow the Drinking Gourd Jeanette Winter, Jeanette Winter (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $6.83 1 $6.83
Encounter Jane Yolen, David Shannon (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $5.98 1 $5.98
Waiting to Waltz: A Childhood Cynthia Rylant, Stephen Gammell (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $16.23 1 $16.23
The Wednesday Surprise Eve Bunting, Donald Carrick (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $5.08 1 $5.08
Emily Michael Bedard, Barbara Cooney (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $5.97 1 $5.97
Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei Peter Sis, Peter Sis (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $6.83 1 $6.83
Sunshine Home Eve Bunting, Diane de Groat (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $5.97 1 $5.97
The Whispering Cloth: A Refugee's Story Pegi Deitz Shea, Anita Riggio (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $8.89 1 $8.89
My Freedom Trip Frances Park, Ginger Park, Debra Reid Jenkins (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $9.69 1 $9.69
Marianthe's Story: Painted Words and Marianthe's Story: Spoken Memories Aliki, Aliki (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $14.61 1 $14.61
More than Anything Else Marie Bradby, Chris K. Soentpiet (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $8.85 1 $8.85
Aunt Flossie's Hats (and Crab Cakes Later) Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard, James Ransome (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $6.79 1 $6.79
Something Permanent Cynthia Rylant, Walker Evans (Photographer) • AKJ BOOKS $12.17 1 $12.17
Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers Karen B. Winnick (Illustrator), Boyds Mills Press Staff • AKJ BOOKS $7.64 1 $7.64
See the Ocean Estelle Condra, Linda Crockett-Blassingame (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $10.22 1 $10.22
Dandelions Eve Bunting, Greg Shed (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $5.98 1 $5.98
I Hate English! Levine, Steve Bjorkman, Steve Bjorkman (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $5.12 1 $5.12

Materials cost

$398.06

Vendor shipping charges

FREE

Sales tax

$0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$5.97

Fulfillment labor & materials

$35.00

Total project cost

$439.03

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$77.48

Total project goal

$516.51

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

$516.51

1 Donor

-$516.51

Donations toward project cost

-$439.03

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$77.48

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

$0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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Project Activity

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