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This teacher needs your help!

Ms. Lavigna from Washington, DC is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Ms. Lavigna is requesting

Award-Winning Readers!

My students need 34 high-quality illustrated books, including "Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky: An African Folktale" and "Un dia de nieve (The Snowy Day)".

  • $400 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Celebrate Black Teachers and Students

This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.

My Students

What can a story mean to a four-year-old? Stories inspire creativity, bestow knowledge and open up new worlds students may otherwise never know. In my classroom now, we have a limited supply of books that are not as engaging as they could be, and the supply is incredibly limited.

My students are four-year-old girls living in the most under-served area of Washington, D.C.

Our all-girls school is 98% African-American and over 90% of our students qualify for free and reduced lunch. My girls are bright, curious, sweet and full of excitement for learning. At home, they may not have access to any books, much less award-winning stories. When they are read to, or when they look at books themselves, they are enthralled and love to ask more. Because they don't have access to travel or extracurricular resources, books are a way to give them experiences about other cultures, languages and people. Providing a rich library for them will inspire their imaginations and give them access to worlds they may never see.

My Project

I've chosen rich and quality books, the majority of them Caldecott award-winners that will show my students how rich and engaging a story can be. Many of these books I remember from the classrooms of my childhood. These books are filled with experiential stories, rich pictures and strong vocabulary. There are also many that relate to their African-American culture, such as civil rights books as well as the works of Ezra Jack Keats. These will be used in whole-group read aloud where students will listen, predict, retell and inquire. The library will also be available daily during free choice time for girls to browse through the books independently and with classmates.

My four-year-old students are starting strong to become the award-winning students they're meant to be, but to get there they need to start with award-winning books in their classroom.

They need books that are rich in African-American culture to help them identify and take pride in their heritage. Additionally, there is a severe vocabulary deficit among low-income African-American students, and we need rich literature that will expose them to new and challenging vocabulary.

Ms. Lavigna
Grades PreK-2

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Expand the "Where your donation goes" section below to see exactly what Ms. Lavigna is requesting.

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TEACHERS, FEELING INSPIRED?

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
Paper Bag Princess Robert N. Munsch, Michael Martchenko (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.25 1 $6.25
Where the Wild Things Are Maurice Sendak, Maurice Sendak (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $10.49 1 $10.49
The Lion and the Mouse Jerry Pinkney • Barnes and Noble $9.93 1 $9.93
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type Doreen Cronin, Betsy Lewin (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $12.23 1 $12.23
Make Way for Ducklings Robert McCloskey, Robert McCloskey (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $13.67 1 $13.67
The Snowy Day Ezra Jack Keats • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Mo Willems, Mo Willems (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $10.79 1 $10.79
Swimmy Leo Lionni, Leo Lionni (Artist) • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
Olivia Ian Falconer, Ian Falconer (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $12.95 1 $12.95
No, David! David Shannon, David Shannon (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $12.23 1 $12.23
Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors Joyce Sidman, Pamela Zagarenski (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $11.52 1 $11.52
Stone Soup Marcia Brown, Marcia Brown (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
Frederick Leo Lionni, Leo Lionni (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really, Really Angry... Molly Bang • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
Owen Kevin Henkes, Kevin Henkes (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $12.23 1 $12.23
Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad Ellen Levine, Kadir Nelson (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $12.23 1 $12.23
Inch by Inch Leo Lionni, Leo Lionni (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
First the Egg Laura Vaccaro Seeger • Barnes and Noble $10.76 1 $10.76
Tar Beach Faith Ringgold, Faith Riggold • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
Rosa Nikki Giovanni, Bryan Collier (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.19 1 $7.19
Tree Is Nice Janice May Udry, Marc Simont (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
Snow Uri Shulevitz • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
Truck Board Book Donald Crews, Donald Crews (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.19 1 $7.19
Goggles! Ezra Jack Keats, Ezra Jack Keats (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
The Talking Eggs Robert D. San Souci, Jerry Pinkney (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $12.23 1 $12.23
Freight Train Donald Crews, Donald Crews (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
The Amazing Bone William Steig, William Steig (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $7.19 1 $7.19
Un dia de nieve (The Snowy Day) Ezra Jack Keats, Ezra Jack Keats (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
A Chair for My Mother Vera B. Williams, Vera B. Williams (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $12.23 1 $12.23
More More More, Said the Baby Vera B. Williams, Vera B. Williams (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
Black and White David Macaulay • Barnes and Noble $7.19 1 $7.19
Ten, Nine, Eight Molly Bang, Molly Bang (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky: An African Folktale Elphinstone Dayrell, Blair Lent (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $6.25 1 $6.25
Rosa Nikki Giovanni, Bryan Collier (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $14.49 1 $14.49

Materials cost

$297.30

Vendor shipping charges

 FREE

Sales tax

 $17.09

3rd party payment processing fee

$4.46

Fulfillment labor & materials

$9.00

Total project cost

$327.85

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$71.97

Total project goal

$399.82

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $399.82

8 Donors

-$399.82

Donations toward project cost

-$327.85

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$71.97

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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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 Ms. Lavigna and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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