Empower Students Through Powerful Literature

Funded Nov 10, 2019

I cannot thank you enough for your financial contributions toward our 40 high-interest books for the classroom. My students' mouths dropped to the floor when I opened box after box of books like it was Christmas day! I introduced each book to the class and explained why I chose that book.

The books are about important social justice topics that students are hearing more and more about. We just finished non-fiction book groups using some of the titles that focused on memoirs, such as The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Additionally, we read The Benefits of Being an Octopus, and participated in a Skype session with the author Ann Braden. Every day students read books of their choosing. I am a strong believer that if they are surrounded by books, they will find something they want to read.

Because of the high interest in social topics covered, students of all abilities are interested in reading our new books. I heard from some students that the situation in the book is like what they live with at home and it is nice to know others are going through the same challenges. Yet others don't have any noticeable struggles, but are working to understand the challenges of others in our community and world. Building empathy and social awareness is a goal I hope to accomplish by having these new titles in my classroom. Not only was your contribution generous, but you were an example to my students of true kindness and generosity.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Schutt