This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
The wonderful children at my school are so diverse in so many ways: ethnically and racially, as well as socioeconomically, and in their talents. We have a large English Language Learner (ELL) population speaking more than ten different languages and a large urban population from our neighborhood. We are a school for the arts, so all students major in one of the arts.
One of the challenges for urban middle school kids is finding books by and about people "who look like me." Our school is full of readers who are hungry for books that they can relate to.
Many are involved in a Project LIT book club, which is so popular we have to have three different meetings each month.
My Project
Jason Reynolds is an author of color to whom my students of all ethnicities relate. Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks is a series of short stories about different middle schoolers at one school, and what happens to each of them when school is let out for the day.
In some of these stories, students will see themselves, and in others, they will see different lives being lived, all laid against the familiar backdrop of a middle school.
The scope for discussion and further understanding of each other is huge, and for this group, knowing that their peers are all dealing with something is profoundly comforting.
Having a class set of this book will allow our teachers to facilitate discussion, as well as to teach short stories to our children.
More than half of 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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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 Ms. Stoll and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.