Funded Mar 6, 2020Back before the pandemic hit our world, I applied for a Donors Choose grant to provide a larger variety of diverse books for my fifth graders to read. I cannot tell you how grateful I am that you provided me with the resources to grow my library in this specific and much-needed way.
For many years, I have told my students that books are like mirrors in which we see ourselves, and books are like windows in which we see out into the world and learn about cultures, people, relationships, and languages that are different from our own. What I didn't realize is that for my majority-white classroom of students in my majority-white school, I wasn't doing my part to make sure that students were reading books that provided diverse perspectives. Your grant was a jumpstart into a brand new way of teaching for me; a better way to teach and to learn.
When students enter my classroom, there is a couch, lounge chairs, bean bags, pillows, and pretty much any cozy item you might need to get in the mood for reading. I teach students to fall in love with literature and they do just that. If you were to walk into my quiet classroom, you would see readers everywhere. While you might not hear a lot of noise, the magic is what is happening in their imaginations and in their hearts.
On good days, the silence of reading is broken with a belly laugh from a student who just got to a funny part, a sniffle and tears from a student's heart that was broken by his character's downfall, a "YES!" from a student reading about her character's triumph, or a small group of kids talking about the book they just finished and how it was "the BEST book" they have ever read!
I cannot thank you enough for providing new and diverse reading experiences for my students.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Logan