You're on track to get doubled donations (and unlock a reward for the colleague who referred you). Keep up the great work!
Take credit for your charitable giving! Check out your tax receipts
Donate
To use your $50 gift card credits, find a project to fund and we'll automatically apply your credits at checkout. Find a classroom project
Menu
Skip to main content

Help teachers & students in your hometown this season!
Use code HOME at checkout and your donation will be matched up to $100.

Your school email address was successfully verified.

Edit classroom photo

Mr. Thomas' Classroom Edit display name

  • Francisco Medrano Middle School
  • Dallas, TX
  • Nearly all students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

https://www.donorschoose.org/classroom/6956449 Customize URL

View your stats
Track donations »
Edit
My students love a good, well-paced narrative as much as anyone else. They can recount movies and TV shows they've enjoyed with great clarity. You could say they are "fluent" in the visual medium. The problem is that, when they try to transfer this fluency to the printed word, their dyslexia makes it unpleasant and frustrating. We are requesting graphic novels which are a great bridge between movies and literature. If a student gets tripped up on the words, visual cues offer contextual clues to help them decipher. This helps the students plow through what would typically be their "frustration level" and continue reading. Essentially, my students need practice creating the "movie" in their minds as they read. This movie is the sign of a fluent reader and most people develop it as learn to read. Imagine trying to read a story in a language you barely know: you would be so focused on translating each word that you wouldn't remember what you just read. People with dyslexia struggle in much the same way. They are so busy decoding each letter and then figuring out each word that they can't get a sense of the overall sentence, paragraph, or story. As a result, they frequently have almost zero reading comprehension. The graphic novels I have chosen are popular, high-interest, and age-appropriate. The intended outcome for students who use these materials is that they improve their reading comprehension. I intend to use these graphic novels as non-assigned, low-pressure, take-home materials that students can read at their leisure and then discuss with their classmates and I. Through these low-stakes conversations (and with my encouragement), I hope students will develop independent reading habits and increase their understanding of how the act of reading can benefit them.

About my class

My students love a good, well-paced narrative as much as anyone else. They can recount movies and TV shows they've enjoyed with great clarity. You could say they are "fluent" in the visual medium. The problem is that, when they try to transfer this fluency to the printed word, their dyslexia makes it unpleasant and frustrating. We are requesting graphic novels which are a great bridge between movies and literature. If a student gets tripped up on the words, visual cues offer contextual clues to help them decipher. This helps the students plow through what would typically be their "frustration level" and continue reading. Essentially, my students need practice creating the "movie" in their minds as they read. This movie is the sign of a fluent reader and most people develop it as learn to read. Imagine trying to read a story in a language you barely know: you would be so focused on translating each word that you wouldn't remember what you just read. People with dyslexia struggle in much the same way. They are so busy decoding each letter and then figuring out each word that they can't get a sense of the overall sentence, paragraph, or story. As a result, they frequently have almost zero reading comprehension. The graphic novels I have chosen are popular, high-interest, and age-appropriate. The intended outcome for students who use these materials is that they improve their reading comprehension. I intend to use these graphic novels as non-assigned, low-pressure, take-home materials that students can read at their leisure and then discuss with their classmates and I. Through these low-stakes conversations (and with my encouragement), I hope students will develop independent reading habits and increase their understanding of how the act of reading can benefit them.

Read more

About my class

Read more
{"followTeacherId":6956449,"teacherId":6956449,"teacherName":"Mr. Thomas","teacherProfilePhotoURL":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp6956449_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=136&height=136&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1573750712741","teacherHasProfilePhoto":true,"vanityURL":"","teacherChallengeId":21527678,"followAbout":"Mr. Thomas' projects","teacherVerify":-1712751166,"teacherNameEncoded":"Mr. Thomas","vanityType":"teacher","teacherPageInfo":{"teacherHasClassroomPhoto":true,"teacherHasClassroomDescription":true,"teacherClassroomDescription":"","teacherProfileURL":"https://www.donorschoose.org/classroom/6956449","tafURL":"https://secure.donorschoose.org/donors/share_teacher_profile.html?teacher=6956449","stats":{"numActiveProjects":0,"numFundedProjects":1,"numSupporters":1},"classroomPhotoPendingScreening":false,"showEssentialsListCard":false}}
Supporting teachers and students since 2000

DonorsChoose makes it easy for anyone to help a classroom in need. Public school teachers from every corner of America create classroom project requests, and you can give any amount to the project that inspires you.

We've earned the highest possible ratings from Better Business Bureau, Charity Watch, Charity Navigator, and Guidestar.