My students need books that reflect their color and their culture. I've included 60 books that focus on Black or Hispanic characters, 2 audio sets, and a document camera.
FULLY FUNDED! Mrs. Bell's classroom raised $702
This project is fully funded
My Students
Sadly, the literature in my classroom does not reflect the faces of my students. We are lacking diverse high-interest books that my students can relate to. My student's biggest challenge is finding books that interest them. Sadly, there is a lack of quality books with minority characters.
My students are mostly Black and Hispanic.
They need connections to the real world to be interested in reading. My students do not read for fun. They read for school, or they don't read at all. They see reading as work with characters they don't connect to and plots they don't understand. My students need books with plots that reflect their culture and characters that remind them of their friends and family.
My Project
In my classroom, I have several bookshelves with baskets of books. I want to add more baskets of Black History, Black Characters, Hispanic History, and Hispanic Characters. I have CD players with headphones. I want my students to be able to find their book and sit down with an audio CD and get into the world that book has to offer. I want them to see characters on the front of books all around the classroom that look like them; not just during Black History month but all the time. I have included a document camera in the cart to display books on the projector so we can read as a class. I added about 60 books that are Black or Hispanic Heritage. I included several books by Walter Dean Myers to interest my middle school boys. I included audio sets for "Monster" and "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry."
Reading is the most important thing we learn in school.
My students struggle with seeing how reading is going to benefit them later in life. I think providing high-quality books that entertain them is how we begin to bridge that gap; showing them that reading can be fun. Reading books can be fun, but books can also teach us valuable lessons. I want my students to see the worth in that.
Nearly all 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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