My students need high interest books that look like they are for older students but have a lower level of decodable words so they can fluently read and comprehend them.
Einstein said, "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." Help me put the right books into the hands of my students to build their confidence as readers, so they can see just how truly smart they are.
My students are smart but they cannot read the same level of books that most of their peers can read.
My students are reading one to two years below grade level. Research indicates that for students to continue to grow, especially struggling students, they need to be reading books at their independent reading level, not frustration level. If we know that the amount of time a student reads is the single best predictor of reading achievement, then we have to get these students reading. My students have told me they don’t want to check the right level of books out or read them in class because they look like “baby books”. They need interesting books that look like they are for older students but have a low readability level. If they don’t get the right level of books from the library and they don’t have them at home, where are they going to get them…me!!! I have spent $200 of my own money buying high interest, low readability books already and they love them but we need more!
My Project
Your donations will help purchase sets and individual titles of high interest, low readability chapter books for older elementary age readers. When these students are reading too difficult of text, their ability to use comprehension strategies goes significantly down because most of their “thinking” is about trying to figure out the words they don’t know. By using the low readability texts they will be able to focus on applying important comprehension strategies. 3rd through 5th grade students will look through these titles every Friday and select 4-5 books to keep in class for the week. They'll be encouraged to take them home nightly to read. The International Reading Association (IRA) emphasizes the importance of “the development and maintenance of a motivation to read”. Reading lots is critical for struggling readers. But they are not going to read if the books are not interesting or look babyish. I already know they love these books, but we need more to keep them reading!
My students want learning to be easier.
Improving their reading is the first step. To get the amount of reading time needed to make reading and learning easier, I need high interest, low readability books for them. I want my students to enjoy reading and value the idea that they can learn from reading. I want to build their confidence as readers. I want to inspire my students to love reading and see it as an important part of their life, now and in the future. Please consider donating!
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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. Personett and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
