Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Today a Reader, Tomorrow a Leader

Via EveryBlock. A teacher at Deneen Elementary located at 7240 S. Wabash is seeking donations to provide her students with books to read.
My Students: Imagine 25 first graders sprawled across a classroom, each curled into a comfy spot with a book they can read all by themselves. The quiet hum of learning takes over as whisper voices read new stories, sound out words, and practice all the things good readers do. This is my dream for my classroom.

My students are curious, enthusiastic six and seven- year-olds who cannot wait to explore the world of books and reading. They live in a high-poverty neighborhood and have experienced many difficult challenges already in their young lives. However, each day they come to school with smiles on, eager to learn and grow.

My Project: My students are incredibly motivated to read, but unfortunately my classroom library is lacking in high quality books at the students' independent reading level. As emergent readers, my students have a wide range of abilities and previous experiences with books. They need access to books they can read on their own in order to build good reading habits and become strong readers.

The leveled books I am asking for support students as they make their way from highly patterned, beginning readers to books with more complex stories, plots, and dialogue. Finding these high-quality, engaging books in a wide range of first grade reading levels is often difficult and expensive. However, the benefits these leveled readers provide are numerous and valuable. Students' confidence grows as they read books they understand and enjoy, and over time, a love of reading emerges!

As a first year teacher, I am working to build a strong classroom library which truly supports ALL students in their journey to becoming lifelong readers and learners. This project will create a solid foundation for my leveled library that will grow and enrich student literacy for years to come! My students need 21 sets of leveled, "good-fit" books to read independently.

My students need 21 sets of leveled, "good-fit" books to read independently. 
What can we do to help? :)

1 comment:

  1. Posted on Concerned, 6th ward, Deneen Alumni Facebook pages.

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