My students need bookshelves to house the classroom library that we've been working hard to build up. We are also requesting 34 new books to add to our classroom library that showcase diversity in adolescent lives.
Throughout the week, 142 students enter my classroom for AIS, or academic intervention services. These students span 5th-7th grade, with reading levels anywhere from kindergarten to 12th grade.The student demographics are homogeneous, with over 97% of students identifying as white. In addition, almost half of my students come from a low socioeconomic background. What this means for my classroom is that my students often stay local, and never get the chance to travel the world, or to even meet people who have a different culture, race, or religion.
What my students need, more than anything, is a window to the parts of the world that they may never get to see.
My goal as a teacher is to give my students every opportunity to explore the world around them, and the best way to for me to help my students is to give them literature that allows them to read about experiences that they may never have in real life.
With your help, I want to bring the 'We Need Diverse Books' movement into my class, and stock my bookshelves with diverse literature that explores new and different ways of life.
My Project
Due to the homogeneous nature of my school district, I strive to provide for my students windows to the outside world. The items that I am requesting are primarily books that tackle diversity at an accessible, middle-grade levels, featuring adolescent characters, and who deal with “every day” problems. The characters are diverse in culture, religions, gender, race, ethnicity, and sexuality, as well as other aspects.
Inspired by the 'We Need Diverse Books', this project aims to give my students the chance to visit the world without leaving my classroom.
In a district where most of my students have not yet had the chance to travel abroad, or even out of New York State, I think that it is crucial to provide my students a way to examine the world and its inhabitants. I want to give my students a glimpse of the outside world. The books and shelves that I have requested will continue to fill my classroom library with opportunities for my students to examine the lives of others, as well as their own lives.
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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. Matthews and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.