My project needs 33 copies each of 'How to Eat Fried Worms,' 'Hoot,' 'Holes,' and 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.'
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Hello. I am the speech therapist in a Special Education unit (K-5) housed in a general education school in Laurelton, Queens, NY. My school is made up of five classes for children with "emotional disturbances" and children with autism.
As we are a small site, we do not have many resources. With all due respect to our general education school, our students do not have access to the school library, nor do they appear to have access to the NYC public library system due to a lack of parental involvement and/or familial difficulties. The students' reading experience is limited to what their teacher has in her classroom. I have been purchasing books and have set up an informal library system. Many of my third to fifth graders still do not borrow chapter books. My library system only consistently affects the students mandated for speech therapy who have weekly access to these books. As a result, students and staff are frustrated, our test scores are low, and (the saddest for me) our students do not enjoy reading.
I would like to start a book club, which I will run, in each of our three 3rd to 5th grade classrooms. We will read each book together, complete various art projects and writing assignments, and watch the movie to complete a comparing/contrasting activity. (This has been a difficult task for them due to their language deficits.) The copies will allow each child to follow along, practice reading fluency in a group, and feel significant. (Too much of their work is photocopies or old textbooks.)
I truly believe that this project has the capacity to do more than merely increase literacy skills and vocabulary for the students. Literature can give them glimpses into other realities than their own, and may give them hope for their own futures, both in regards to academic success and their personal lives. Thank you for considering us!
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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