Teaching a child to read is one of the greatest rewards in life. I teach Sixth Grade Literature at a small, rural middle school located in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. Our county receives limited funds and over the past several years has not been able to meet all of our class needs. Sixty percent of our student population qualifies for a free or reduced lunch, making it difficult for families to help financially.
My students read a variety of literature, from John Steinbeck to Gary Paulson. They love the challenge of new words and discovering meanings in a dictionary. They have daily assignments using the dictionary in order to learn new words on sixth grade level. Unfortunately, I do not have a class set of dictionaries, I have been borrowing old outdated books from other teachers. The students have shown a great interest in using a dictionary correctly, but this is difficult to teach them without a book for each student. I have requested dictionaries for 3 years now, but the money is not available. These students deserve an opportunity to discover and learn new words daily, through self exploration and guidance.
I need 25 dictionaries to put at each students' desk, so they can use them everyday in class. With these dictionaries the students can look up words they read from their textbook, novels, or research resources. They will acquire skills needed to be successful throughout middle school and high school. They will improve their vocabularies and well as their understanding of texts.
You can make a difference in the life of a child. These students will learn new words to last a lifetime, words which will make them better readers, words which will give them the wisdom needed to be successful in life. You will make it possible for my students to have a dictionary waiting for them at their desks everyday of the school year. You will help these students realize that learning new words leads to greater knowledge and new wisdom. This will truly be a "words for wisdom" project.
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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