Our motto in my classroom comes from Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri, "That's the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet" (The Namesake). Our class explores the world through the books we read!
My students are amazing kids.
I teach high school in a rural community in the Midwest. We live in a small country community. Many of my students live on small family farms or they have horses and other livestock. Many of these kids will start their own families and purchase their own homes in this same community; that's a good thing, it's a great place to live. In my World Literature class, I try to expose them to different cultures and countries. I want them to be exposed to different ideas and people that view the world differently. There is so much to gain from reading a book about a different place. We do that in my class.
My Project
On average, my students are reading two and a half grade levels lower than where they should be. This year, I have used a couple of approved tests to determine the reading level of all of my students. We all knew that after COVID, students would be behind. My students need help to improve their reading skills.
I need books that students want to read.
The books that students have requested. I cannot help students improve their reading, if they will not read.
In my classroom, we have independent reading and we have literature circles. If I am to help students recover post COVID, I need the books the students will read. My list is mostly current YA literature.
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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. Mildon and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.