Young Adult Literature That Connects to At-Risk Teens
Help me give my students the chance to read books that reflect both the joys and the hardships of growing up with an absent parent, anxiety and depression, poverty and ways to make safe choices for their lives.
I work with struggling readers in grades 9-12. They include students who have learning disabilities, ESOL (English speakers of another language), and students who face testing anxiety. What makes them so special is that despite the challenges they face, they show up day after day ready to keep trying to reach their goal: graduation.
Many of my students have been in and out of reading classes since elementary school.
Observing them engage in excellent books and subsequently learning how to analyze literature through discussion, writing and special projects is one of the most rewarding parts of my job.
Personal challenges that many of my students face include poverty, an absent parent, living in foster care, incarcerated loved ones, and the loss of family due to violence and/or addiction. Bibliotherapy is an avenue in which kids can find connection to their own lives via high-interest, accessible books.
My Project
Bibliotherapy is a way in which young adult readers connect to the realities of some of their own lives: how to cope with grief, addiction, absent parents, incarcerated loved ones, abuse and the increasing number of them suffering from mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression. I have been teaching at-risk young adults for the past 25 years, and they are the most rewarding people to teach.
Many of my students have been in reading classes since elementary school.
The love of reading is absent in their lives, which effects their overall academic performance and puts them at risk to not graduate from high school.
Poetry, graphic novels, high-interest nonfiction and fiction texts added to my classroom library gives more young adults the chance to become readers. Active readers are critical thinkers who learn to question effectively, be independent thinkers and increase their test scores and overall academic performance.
Young adult literature not only allows teens to find their own stories within books but also offers ways for them to change their own stories. Many of my students have learning disabilities, speak English as their second language and have struggled academically for many years. Your donation will positively effect so many young 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 Mrs. Gonzalez and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
