We Wanna Read, Miss C.!

My Students

We wanna read, Miss C.! I hear their call, and I'm ready to answer. Please help my second graders overcome summer fatigue and begin the new year successfully. Shortened school days, aggressive curriculum, and limited resources present a challenge, but it is one we are ready to overcome.

Our school is located outside a densely populated, Midwest urban area and has faced tremendous budget cuts this year.

Teacher layoffs, and class sizes up to 35, present unique challenges for teachers and students alike. My goal is to make sure these cuts do not affect my students and their learning. My second graders are a special bunch. They are motivated, energetic, and eager to dive in and learn. I will provide them with a safe environment and encourage risk taking in their learning. Yet, with high expectations and fast-moving curriculum, many students are already behind, and many of their families lack the resources to help. For these families, after school tutoring is not possible, and some don't have the Internet to access educational websites at home. So, every minute in the classroom is vital. These are a deserving and needing group of students who will be thankful for any new piece of classroom material that will help them learn.

My Project

Creating a classroom listening station would provide an effective and unique way of increasing reading fluency. My classroom is not equipped for this type of learning center. Yet, many students are auditory learners and need to practice their independent reading with an auditory aid. With the items I have requested, my students will be able to choose books written at their own independent reading level, put on headphones, sit at our new listening station, and plug into a good book. They can suspend their worries, and tune out the classroom, while still getting quality reading practice and support. After the book is finished, I ask that they answer questions from the post-reading pocket chart, so I can assess their comprehension and make necessary adjustments. The additional requested books are mostly science-based because this subject gets minimal attention in our curriculum. With the blank CDs, I will record myself reading these books and cycle them in and out of the listening center.

Like many districts, we are faced with massive deficits.

Our classrooms are full of old, mismatched furniture, dated materials, and barely functioning computers. A new, working listening station will provide my students with something they don't often see. Having leveled books available will increase their chance of success, and these kids need to know what that feels like. Please help these deserving second graders tune into a good book and get the best reading education possible.