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This teacher needs your help!

Mr. Okamura from Philadelphia, PA is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Mr. Okamura is requesting

Empowering Students to Write Their Own Chapters

Help me give my students examples of memoirs that are easy to read, funny, and contain within them strong sociopolitical arguments.

  • $745 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

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Keep the momentum going! Make a donation to Mr. Okamura for his next project!

My Project

In order to set my 12th graders up for writing powerful personal essays for college, my students need to read strong examples of autobiographical writing in various genres to inspire them to write about themselves and the larger world around them.

By reading this curated list of incisive, entertaining, and poignant autobiographies, students will analyze how proficient writers are able to simultaneously tell a tale about what has happened in their lives and comment on society at the same time.

Throughout this book circle unit, students will be engaging in various socratic seminars, sharing with each other how writers structure arguments under the guise of autobiography.

My students attend a low-income urban school in Philadelphia and hail from a variety of backgrounds, many of whom will be the first in their families to face the challenges of attending high school, college, and beyond. This book circle unit differentiates student learning needs according to interest and reading level.

Long-term social change is enacted not by catchy political slogans or through committed educators, but through our youth engaging in school, reading cool books, and building an inclusive learning community.

Mr. Okamura Paul Robeson High School - Human Services Grades 9-12

Celebrate Black teachers and kids! This project supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of students are Black.

Equity Focus

This project directly supports students at a historically underfunded school. Learn more about our Equity Focus.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

More about Mr. Okamura

Philadelphia, PA View local requests

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

60 students impacted 5donors

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Expand the "Where your donation goes" section below to see exactly what Mr. Okamura is requesting.

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American • Amazon Business $20.86 12 $250.32
What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker: A Memoir in Essays • Amazon Business $11.71 16 $187.36
Crying in H Mart: A Memoir • Amazon Business $9.75 16 $156.00

Materials cost

$593.68

Vendor shipping charges

 FREE

Sales tax

 $0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$8.91

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$632.59

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$111.63

Total project goal

$744.22

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $744.22

2 Donors

-$452.39

Donations toward project cost

-$440.33

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$12.06

match offer

-$226.19

Match offer toward project cost

-$192.26

Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$33.93

Excluded support for DonorsChoose

-$65.65

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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Project Activity

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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. Okamura and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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