My students need 55 high-interest, high-quality books to read and discuss in small book clubs.
$287 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
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"I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves." - Anna Quindlen, author
I teach in a Collaborative Team Teaching fourth grade class - two teachers (a general education teacher and a special education teacher) and a class that is comprised of about half "general ed" students and half students with learning disabilities.
Many of our students have difficulty reading and, consequently, don't like to read.
Last year, my co-teacher and I started organizing our students into book clubs. Each club (about five kids) read and discussed high-quality children's literature. Over the course of the school year, we saw our students start to love book clubs and then start to DEMAND them. If we spent even one week without book club meetings, angry fourth graders would start to protest (and 9-year-olds can be very demanding). The simple act of sharing literature, talking about funny, meaningful, scary, or sad parts, led our children to become ardent, thoughtful, engaged readers. Unfortunately, we don't have appropriate books for our struggling readers.
My Project
As we implemented book clubs last year, my co-teacher and I quickly realized that we lacked resources for our struggling readers. Books at an appropriate reading level for many of our special-needs students were too "babyish" for them. Our struggling readers needed engaging stories that could form the basis for rich, thoughtful discussions AND that they could read independently. The books on this list are just that: they are engaging, funny, high-quality titles that struggling readers will sink their teeth into. Moreover, I've chosen books that are part of a series (Poppleton, Fly Guy, Judy Moody/Stink), because falling in love with a series is one of the most sure-fire ways to build a lasting love of reading. I've also selected both nonfiction and fiction titles, hoping to appeal to a broad range of children. I know that these books will strengthen the book club culture of my classroom!
Book clubs are a simple concept: take the solitary act of reading and make it a shared experience.
I've seen the incredible impact book clubs can have on students, but I need the books to allow me to continue this quest. The right books in the hands of children will create life-long readers, the kind of people who decorate their homes with bookshelves.
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
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