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This teacher needs your help!

Ms. Cartagena from Brooklyn, NY is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Ms. Cartagena is requesting

Real Book Clubs About Real World Issues!

My students need 19 different social issue picture books to be used in book clubs, including 'The Old Woman Who Named Things' and 'Babushka Baba Yaga.'

  • $909 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Keep the momentum going! Make a donation to Ms. Cartagena for her next project!

Help Ms. Cartagena

Keep the momentum going! Make a donation to Ms. Cartagena for her next project!

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

Celebrate Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

My Students

Have you had the opportunity to be in a book club with friends? Do you recall the level of commitment you felt to be actively involved? What about the great conversations that were sparked because of the book? Well I want those experiences for my students and in order to do that I need your help!

I teach in a high needs school in New York City.

The students I work with are mostly English Language Learners who have been in the country for just a few years and are reading about two years below grade level. Reading is a struggle for them, but despite of that they are truly ambitious. They come to school each day eager to learn and wiling to try, but the demands of the curriculum and the lack of appropriate materials do not make their "job" of acquiring a second language while learning grade level content any easier.

My Project

To make their learning experience a little easier while developing their reading, speaking, listening and writing skills I have formed book clubs. These books will enable my students to work with other students, who are proficient in English, as book club friends. To this end, my students will be granted the opportunity to discuss their thinking about books. Being that the books I have requested are all picture books the content will be accessible to my students and their reading deficits will not be an issue. Moreover, being that these materials all relate to real world issues, their own life stories will provide another way for them to connect with the texts and bring something more to the book clubs.

My students are ambitious, dedicated and willing to take chances.

They are anxious to do the work and take the chance with their thinking and with their English in order to be in these book clubs. All we need now are the social issue picture books so that we can make book club friends.

Ms. Cartagena PS 1 the Bergen Grades 3-5

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 Ms. Cartagena

Brooklyn, NY View local requests

More than three‑quarters 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

40 students impacted 4donors

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

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
White Socks Only Evelyn Coleman, Tyrone Geter (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $5.97 4 $23.88
Butterfly Patricia Polacco • AKJ BOOKS $6.83 4 $27.32
Freedom Summer Deborah Wiles, Jerome Lagarrigue (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $6.83 4 $27.32
Back of the Bus Aaron Reynolds, Floyd Cooper (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $13.79 4 $55.16
Our Gracie Aunt Jacqueline Woodson, Jon J. Muth (Illustrator), Jon J Muth (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $5.12 4 $20.48
The Lotus Seed Sherry Garland, Tatsuro Kiuchi (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $5.98 4 $23.92
Fox Margaret Wild, Ron Brooks (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $6.83 4 $27.32
Crow Call Lois Lowry, Bagram Ibatoulline (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $11.61 4 $46.44
Let Them Play Margot Theis Raven, Chris Ellison (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $13.76 4 $55.04
Train to Somewhere Eve Bunting, Ronald Himler (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $6.83 4 $27.32
Finding Lincoln Ann Malaspina • AKJ BOOKS $13.79 4 $55.16
Your Move Eve Bunting, James Ransome (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $14.53 4 $58.12
The Lemonade Club Patricia Polacco, Patricia Polacco (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $11.61 4 $46.44
The Junkyard Wonders Patricia Polacco, Patricia Polacco (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $12.30 4 $49.20
January's Sparrow Patricia Polacco, Patricia Polacco (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $15.72 4 $62.88
Babushka Baba Yaga Patricia Polacco • AKJ BOOKS $5.97 4 $23.88
Chicken Soup for the Kid's Soul 2: Read-Aloud or Read-Alone Character-Building Stories for Kids Ages 6-10 Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Hansen, Irene Dunlap • AKJ BOOKS $12.14 4 $48.56
The Old Woman Who Named Things Cynthia Rylant, Kathryn Brown (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $5.98 4 $23.92
Those Shoes Maribeth Boelts, Noah Z. Jones (Illustrator) • AKJ BOOKS $5.97 4 $23.88

Materials cost

$726.24

Vendor shipping charges

 FREE

Sales tax

 $0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$10.89

Fulfillment labor & materials

$35.00

Total project cost

$772.13

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$136.26

Total project goal

$908.39

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $908.39

3 Donors

-$904.86

Donations toward project cost

-$772.13

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$132.73

Excluded support for DonorsChoose

-$3.53

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $0.00

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

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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 Ms. Cartagena and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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