Past projects 11
Reading Isn't Just for Nerds!
Funded Nov 10, 2021After a year and half of Distant Learning, many students came back to in-person classroom instruction without any motivation to read. Upon their first reading assessment, we noticed a huge gap in their reading ability.
Struggling readers, at the middle school level need a vast amount of motivation and some of the books your donations made possible, were of high interest and at their independent level. After starting each novel study, kids looked forward to class reading time and discussions based on the themes of the book. I also noticed more kids heading to the classroom library to see what else they could read.
Based on the last reading assessment, the majority of the kids improved. More importantly, they found books interesting, and I believe that is more important at this time. We will end the school year, with a more complex novel, that you also donated. Thank you for stewarding a passion for long life readers and learners!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Chamorro
This classroom project was brought to life by #TeachHealthy with Nature Made and 2 other donors.Mirrors and Windows in Our Classroom Library
Funded Nov 10, 2021Your impact was felt as soon as the first box of books was opened. Students were in disbelief of some of the the manga titles now available for them to read. A struggling student, for the very first time, visited our classroom library to pick up a copy of The Diary of the Wimpy Kid. Two other girls came to class on time the following day to grab a book to read together. This may sound normal, for a reading class, however this school year has been a year like no other. After a year and half of distant learning, many students did not read for class, let alone for pleasure. Students had to help with childcare for younger siblings and did not have reliable WIFI to attend Zoom classes on a regular basis.
This has been our first academic year back on campus and I learned that my students do not read outside of school or think of books as something pleasurable to do. In fact, students have said, " I have not read a book in years" and "I do not like to read". These books have been a welcome thirst quencher for my students' unknown desire for good stories and adventures. We read several books together as a class, discussed the characters and themes, but most importantly we made connections to the texts and saw how we could apply some of the universal lessons about life, love, and loss to our own lives.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Chamorro
This classroom project was brought to life by #TeachHealthy with Nature Made.Our First Book Adventure in Uncertain Times
Funded Sep 19, 2020I love to read books and my students do too, but some of it do not know it until they arrive to my class and I inspire them to dive into a reading journey with me. At the beginning of this extraordinary school year,most of my students stated they did not read at all and found it boring. After reading the first few chapters of Coraline, many changed their minds about reading being boring!
Since I am teaching remotely due to the Pandemic, I found it necessary to find a way to get real books in the hands of my students. It is proven that having a book versus an eReader or PDF increases retention of language and also allows students to look away from the screen, a much needed break with so much online screen time, as we read and learn together. I scheduled a meeting with my students in the parking lot and passed out books. This allowed me to also meet my students face to face which is so vital as we foster relationships in our classroom.
In the beginning, it was mostly me reading aloud, but students began feeling more comfortable volunteering to read as we delved deeper into the plot. On most days, I would create breakout rooms and assign a student to faciliate the book talks. This gave yet another opportunity for my students to bond over the book and create a sense of community even in our distant learning mode.
I am so thankful to you for allowing us to escape into a literary world and find a bit of respoite withe ongoing grief and chaos in the world.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Chamorro