I am a school counselor in a public, PreK-5 elementary school. I work primarily with students in grades 3 through 5, providing whole-class lessons for all of my students, as well as individual and small-group counseling sessions for my at-risk students. My interventions are wide-ranging, addressing students' academic, social/personal, and career development needs.
As a school faculty, we are focusing this year on promoting a love of reading in our students.
To this end, I have created a group called "The Lunch Bunch." At the start, I allowed students to eat in my office and listen to an audio book one day a week. This enthusiastic group of students has grown so large that we have had to take over a classroom during lunch and we are now meeting several times a week!
My Project
I am requesting a variety of audio books in this project. The audio books include The Maze Runner series, Three Times Lucky, The Watsons Go to Birmingham, Fish in a Tree, The Fourteenth Goldfish, and others, all award-winning, popular titles among older, elementary-aged students. One or two days a week, some of my students and I will eat lunch together while we listen to one of these audio books.
Research shows that listening to audio books can benefit all readers by providing a model of good reading, building vocabulary and comprehension, and teaching critical listening skills.
Beyond listening to the stories together, we will also have time to discuss how the story has evolved that day, providing an opportunity for students to develop their listening, conversation, critical thinking, and social skills. I am also requesting a set of mindfulness activity cards that I can use, when needed, to fill the few minutes between "a good stopping point" in our book and discussion and when their classmates return from eating in the cafeteria.
Over the course of several lunches we will finish one book and then can begin anew with another. With the audio books included here, we will be able to enjoy many lunches together!
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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 Dr. Taylor and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
