Helping Students Forget Their Tech With a Good Book!

Funded Jun 9, 2022

Thank you so much for your contributions to my DonorsChoose project! Having piloted the novel "Unwind" last year and seeing how it engaged my students, I immediately knew I wanted to reuse the text. However, I also felt strongly about getting tangible copies into the hands of my students so they did not have to read off of their Chromebooks. With your help, this has been possible!

With this text, I am able to first and foremost engage students in an age-appropriate modern novel that is relevant and thought-provoking. Students will be able to study characterization and theme, seeing how these crucial plot devices develop over the course of the novel. They will be able to compare and contrast the characters and big ideas at the start and the end, noting how they may have changed or not. But my students will also be able to form opinions about the novel and learn to defend those stances with textual evidence. This work will also allow my students to forge connections between the text and what is happening in the real world around them so that they may go beyond the classroom being better informed and prepared for the challenges they will face.

I am finally so happy to be able to limit screen time with these hard copies of "Unwind." Much of the reading we do is in class together. While a good portion of this is independent silent reading, there are times where students and I read aloud to one another as a whole class. I am also hoping that by having the hard copies, we can take our books outside with us on nice days to read out in the fresh air.”

With gratitude,

Mr. Heglin