"Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary." – Jim Rohn
"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." – Dr. Seuss
I am a new teacher at South Philadelphia High School and in my placement, I was asked to teach both English 4 and African American History for Learning Support students. I knew this would be a challenge considering I had never taught English. As I started to prepare for the course, I wanted to see if there would be a way in which I could incorporate both the English and the African American History curriculum into both classes. So I started the year, trying to think of ways to do just that.
When we started class, I found out that the students did not have access to copies of the African American History textbooks and only had online access to the English 4 textbook. This was a struggle for many of my students who do not have computers at home or access to the Internet. I knew that I was going to have to become creative in my lessons to ensure that all students had access to the material I was covering.
In my "Getting to Know You" survey, that I give to all my students at the start of the year, I was surprised to learn that many of the students could not name a single book that they have read. Through a class discussion, I found that most students did not have access to novels in school and have not read a book in quite a long time. During the conversation, the students explained that they do not like to read because it is "boring", "too long", "hard to read", etc. I was saddened to hear this because I remember reading some great classics in my high school years. I really wanted to give these Seniors a chance to have said that they read a novel and give the 10th grades in African American History an opportunity to be able to read something.
Through some research, I came across the graphic novel, March by John Lewis and I was so excited. This book not only incorporates the themes found in the African American History curriculum but can also be taught in my English 4 class. My excitement soon turned to disappointment when I saw the price of just the first book, yet alone the whole trilogy! Our school has a very limited budget and knowing that we did not have enough textbooks, I knew I would never have March approved for my classes. This is when I decided to turn to Donors Choose. While I knew obtaining a class set of the trilogy would be a long shot, I thought I would at least attempt it!
Many of my family and friends donated to our cause and I was so appreciative. I would give the students updates and share with them our progress. I wanted the students to have realistic expectations, so I reminded them that it might not happen but it was worth giving it a shot.
I will never forget the moment I found out that our project was funded! It was a Sunday night and I almost died! I was so excited to get to school the next day to share my news with the classes. I was thrilled to let them know that not only are we getting March: Book 1 but we were funded enough to get the whole trilogy! The students were so excited.
When the boxes arrived to the classroom, I waited until each class was in session before I opened them. The students were so excited to flip through each of the books. Many of them said that they have never had a brand new book. I told the students that I will start working on lessons so we can jump right into reading!
Our classes are 90 minutes long and tend to be a struggle for Learning Support students to be able to focus on one task for that amount time. I decided to incorporate a Blended Learning style in my classroom. This means that the students will go to a station for 25 minutes and then rotate. Each station is different and allows for the student to work very hard on a specific task for those 25 minutes. We started using March in one of our reading stations (can be seen in the pictures). The students read together a specific section of the book and share out ideas. I have created "book discussion starters" in case the students needed guidance, but they have not. It is so exciting to see the students reading, comprehending and sharing their opinions about what they have read.
To say that the donors have impacted my students is an understatement. I now have students, who have not read a book in years, reading for 25 minutes in every class. It is a huge accomplishment for these students and I can tell how proud they are of themselves. I have heard from other teachers that some of the students have been discussing what we are doing in their other classes. It is a such a joy to see these students reading. Thank you again for the books and supporting my students.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Gillen