My Students

My first graders devour every book they get their hands on. When they came into my classroom, they were working on a beginning-of-kindergarten reading level. They did not know letters or letter sounds, and did not recognize words. In a low-income community, these students are struggling to read.

My students are from rural, low-income North Carolina.

Many go home to a babysitter because their parents work two or three jobs. Oftentimes, these students return to my classroom in the morning hungry because their last meal was lunch in our school. These first graders are so excited to soak up learning. They love reading new words and seeing themselves grow as readers. They pause at least once while reading to say, "Hey! I just learned that word! I can read this!"

My Project

The Daily 5 is a program that allows for five activities: Listen to Reading, Read to Someone, Read to Self, Word Work, and Work on Writing. The teacher is able to meet with students for guided reading throughout the week while others work purposefully on meaningful reading skill work. So far, I have worked to implement it in pieces, but do not have enough resources to implement it in full. I have requested several materials to help my students succeed in reading. The Sight Word Center will help them recognize words instantly to improve fluency. The Common Core Language Arts Centers will help them learn the new curriculum that goes into place next fall. "Phones" will help minimize volume for students doing Word Work with magnetic letters or Wikki Sticks. With these materials, my students will have the opportunity to grow to the same place or beyond their higher-income peers in reading.

First grade is the start of everything.

They learn basic foundational skills in both reading and math. In reading, they are asked to grow the most of any grade in terms of reading levels. My students are already at a disadvantage because of a lack of resources both at school and at home. In order to catch up and go beyond their higher income peers, having the Daily 5 in full implementation with the resources they need will help them succeed now and beyond first grade.