Making Reading Relevant & Relatable

Funded Sep 17, 2019

First of all, to those who donated, we sincerely thank you for your kindness.

Many of my students do not enjoy reading. They've been told all their lives they are poor readers, thus causing disdain for English class.

I got the idea of reading The Hate U Give from a Project Based Learning assignment. In this specific project, it asks students to write about creative license and what happens when Hollywood buys the rights to a book. Students compare/contrast scenes, characters, and themes from both the book and movie.

The reason I chose this book is because of the prominent themes of racism, discrimination, profiling, and standing up for your beliefs.

As we progressed through the book, we had several classroom discussions on police brutality, code switching, racial profiling, and properly standing up for your beliefs. As this book is written in first-person point of view, many students related to the inner thoughts and feelings of Starr, the main character.

Most of my students stayed engaged throughout the 444 pages of this novel. Because of Donors Choose, students read through an entire novel for the first time.

We are now completing our Project Based Learning, as students write a book/movie comparison review. It's the first time I've ever witnessed near 100% engagement with a writing assignment. Students are eager to share their opinion and have their own voice.

My hope is that I sparked an interest in reading among my students. I plan to use this book again in the future.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Greeson