"A book is a gift you can open again and again." This quote, by Garrison Keillor, states the importance of books and stories in the lifelong learning process. In my classroom, we use stories and storytelling to naturally acquire the Spanish language, similar to how many of us learned English as our first language as a young child. Although I often come up with stories on my own to engage my students in class, they would greatly benefit from having access to a full classroom library of authentic Spanish books that they can use for free reading, building cultural contexts, literary analysis, and the basis of class discussions.
With these authentic Spanish books and stories, my students will be able to confidently learn more about various Hispanic traditions while also improving their reading proficiency. This is key for them to be successful language learners in the future. These books would allow me to create a small classroom library with a diverse collection of authentic texts, both fiction and nonfiction, on a variety of Spanish levels to meet the needs of all of my students. Over 85% of my students live below the poverty line and do not have access to a wide variety of literature at home or outside of school. By providing them with access to these books, I am giving them the chance to be as successful as any other student and to reach their full potential.
By creating this library, I am continuing to promote a culture of literacy and lifelong learning in my classroom. I have done extensive research on the benefits of comprehensible input and authentic texts on second language acquisition, and with your help I can continue to provide my students with the materials that they need and deserve to be successful.
About my class
"A book is a gift you can open again and again." This quote, by Garrison Keillor, states the importance of books and stories in the lifelong learning process. In my classroom, we use stories and storytelling to naturally acquire the Spanish language, similar to how many of us learned English as our first language as a young child. Although I often come up with stories on my own to engage my students in class, they would greatly benefit from having access to a full classroom library of authentic Spanish books that they can use for free reading, building cultural contexts, literary analysis, and the basis of class discussions.
With these authentic Spanish books and stories, my students will be able to confidently learn more about various Hispanic traditions while also improving their reading proficiency. This is key for them to be successful language learners in the future. These books would allow me to create a small classroom library with a diverse collection of authentic texts, both fiction and nonfiction, on a variety of Spanish levels to meet the needs of all of my students. Over 85% of my students live below the poverty line and do not have access to a wide variety of literature at home or outside of school. By providing them with access to these books, I am giving them the chance to be as successful as any other student and to reach their full potential.
By creating this library, I am continuing to promote a culture of literacy and lifelong learning in my classroom. I have done extensive research on the benefits of comprehensible input and authentic texts on second language acquisition, and with your help I can continue to provide my students with the materials that they need and deserve to be successful.
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