Imagine looking at the strange symbols and lines on a piece of paper or a book and not knowing what they mean! That is hard to comprehend, but that is a reality for many of my second grade students. Two thirds of them are at risk for reading failure. Some don't even know their letters.
Our school is high poverty.
Two thirds of my second graders qualify for free lunch. Many parents work two jobs. At least three of my students' families are considered homeless because they live with Grandma. These families want the best for their children, but don't know how to help them at home because they don't speak English. Our school doesn't qualify for Title I funding, so we have limited help with reading. Our reading specialists can only work with five children out of our classrooms for 20 minutes a day. When students are two years behind in their reading skills, this time barely scratches the surface. Many of my students don't have books at home on their reading level and don't have access to a computer. Many have never heard of most of the common nursery rhymes and fairy tales.
My Project
Everyone loves a story. Kids love to be read to. But who is available to read to them? I do read to my students every day, but during small reading group, which is an hour day, five students will read with me for 15 minutes. The rest of the students are at their desks doing spelling, handwriting, journals, and other worksheets. They are on their own for 45 minutes each day. That's a long time for seven- to eight-year-old children! I like to use listening centers to break up that long stretch of desk time. Listening to a story book or an interesting fiction book while following along and looking at the words increases vocabulary knowledge and reading expression. It also helps with word recognition and fluency. And it's just plain fun, enjoyable, and relaxing! My students will learn about Frog and Toad's adventures, Mother Goose, Curious George, The Billy Goats Gruff, Magic Tree House adventures, and the Three Little Kittens. They will have access to a rich language treat.
I appreciate any donations you can help my class with.
Picture skinny little, happy children, some toothless, some in pigtails, others with ripped knees in their jeans, lying comfortably on a beanbag listening and laughing with delight at one of the stories you made available to them. Know that your donation will add in part to their reading enjoyment and understanding of plot, character, setting, and theme, and help them pronounce words they didn't know before. Thank you!
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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 Mrs. Christensen and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.