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This teacher needs your help!

Ms. Brezek from Berwyn, IL is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Ms. Brezek is requesting

You Mean....That's Poetry?

My students need two class sets for poetry study and individual poetry books by respected authors.

  • $656 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

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

Help Ms. Brezek

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.

"Poems are other people's snapshots in which we see our own lives." -Charles Simic I teach readers and writers at the middle school level and LOVE what I do. In order to develop the abilities of my kids, I need quality literature for study. With the state of education these days and drastic budget cuts, there isn't extra money lying around to purchase all the books my writers need, in order to study and write like poets. I'm working on our poetry unit that will probably happen around January. Most kids hear the topic of poetry and squirm with anxiety. In order to relive their stress, we will read Love That Dog (Creech) first, and they will say, "That's it? I can do that!" (Beautiful story - and an easy read!) Next, we move into Poetry Matters: Writing a Poem from the Inside Out (Fletcher). Here kids study the different crafts within poetry - image, rhythm, wordplay - to name a few. Throughout this study, kids are reading tons of poetry and making connections to their own lives. They are mentored by authors such as Walter Dean Myers, Jane Yolen, and Jean Little to see that they actually can write quality poetry about topics that are meaningful to them - friends, family, memories in winter, or holidays. The vision I have for this unit goes beyond the classroom - I see my kids going out in the community to a children's hospital or a nursing home where they will have an audience to work for and a day to celebrate their poetry with others. I am also envisioning a poetry slam evening where students' poems are bound together in books for all to have and to be shared with family and friends. Your donation will make my writers poets - can you imagine realizing that you want to be a writer in a middle school writer's workshop? Imagine how your help will inspire young minds. I couldn't do this without you! And to keep with the theme, a poem :) Like You by Roque Dalton Like you I love love, life, the sweet smell of things, the sky-blue landscape of January days. And my blood boils up and I laugh through eyes that have known the buds of tears. I believe the world is beautiful and that poetry, like bread, is for everyone. And that my veins don't end in me but in the unanimous blood of those who struggle for life, love, little things, landscape and bread, the poetry of everyone. Thank you for visiting, and my writers would love a donation so they can begin to craft poetry that quite possibly could be a snapshot into your life...

Ms. Brezek Heritage Middle School Grades 6-8

Equity Focus

At this school, more than 50% of students are Black, Latino, and/or Native American, and more than 50% come from low-income households. Learn how your donation to this school supports a more equitable education.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

More about Ms. Brezek

Berwyn, IL View local requests

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

115 students impacted 11donors

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

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
Love That Dog • AKJ Books $5.22 30 $156.60
Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing up Latino in the United States Lori M. Carlson (Editor), Oscar Hijuelos (Introduction) • Barnes and Noble $6.29 1 $6.29
Hate That Cat Sharon Creech • Barnes and Noble $12.79 4 $51.16
Confetti: Poems for Children Pat Mora, Enrique O. Sanchez (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $14.35 1 $14.35
Brown Angels: An Album of Pictures and Verse Walter Dean Myers • Barnes and Noble $17.99 1 $17.99
Poetry Matters: Writing a Poem from the Inside Out Ralph Fletcher • Barnes and Noble $5.39 30 $161.70
Tree Is Older Than You Are: A Bilingual Gathering of Poems and Stories from Mexico with Paintings by Mexican Artists Naomi Shihab Nye • Barnes and Noble $13.49 1 $13.49
This Same Sky: A Collection of Poems from Around the World Naomi Shihab Nye • Barnes and Noble $9.89 1 $9.89
I Feel a Little Jumpy Around You: A Book of Her Poems and His Poems Collected in Paris Naomi Shihab Nye, Janeczko Nye, Paul B. Janeczko (Editor) • Barnes and Noble $24.21 1 $24.21
Canto Familiar Gary Soto, Annika Nelson (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $5.35 1 $5.35
Twilight Comes Twice Ralph Fletcher, Kate Kiesler (Illustrator) • Barnes and Noble $12.80 1 $12.80

Materials cost

$473.83

Vendor shipping charges

 $47.38

Sales tax

 $0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$7.11

Fulfillment labor & materials

$9.00

Total project cost

$537.34

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$117.95

Total project goal

$655.29

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $655.29

9 Donors

-$655.29

Donations toward project cost

-$537.34

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$117.95

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $0.00

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

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