Past projects 2
Independent Reading for Every Student
Funded Oct 11, 2023I want to sincerely thank you for supporting this project! One of the hardest skills reading teachers work to teach students is the idea that reading is an active not passive activity. I use the analogy of reading to having a conversation - if there isn't a back and forth, you're not doing it right!
Being able to give students their own copies of texts and to be able to make copies of texts for them to use for annotating as they read is a key component to helping them practice this skill.
Dr. Mortimer J. Adler wrote in his article "How to Mark a Book" (Saturday Review of Literature, 1941) that "...marking up a book is not an act of mutilation but of love. You shouldn't mark up a book which isn't yours."
Thank you for helping my students get down and dirty with their own books!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Belden
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community & an Anonymous Partner and 9 other donors.A Library for the Students, By the Students (Part 1)
Funded Mar 14, 2023I want to thank you for the support you gave to my students with this project. I also want to apologize that this impact report is coming late - I wanted to send you photos of students that were directly involved with this project as well as students who were impacted after it was implemented. The students who participated in implementing this project helped to create the request list and were able to gift the books that requested to our school library. Many, many students in the school have been taking out these books and reading them since they were catalogued and put out for distribution.
The students who implemented this project considering the value of the library as part of our school - they looked at the institution not just from how much they appreciate having it in the school, but from the angle of how it helps to create equity for students of color, students who live in poverty, students who are second language learners, students who identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community, and students who deal with learning disabilities. All of these subgroups need literature that they enjoy, is accessible to them, and that represents who they are - this project started that work in our library!
The students who have benefitted from the literature in our school library are countless - not because I couldn't go up and see how many of the books have been borrowed and read but because they number increases every day.
Thank you so much for making this possible - thank you for putting good into the world and supporting these amazing, AMAZING kids!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Belden