Developing strong literacy skills begins in kindergarten and is imperative to building successful readers and learners as students progress through school. In kindergarten, we focus on emergent reading skills such as telling a story from the page in the book or recognizing that each page contributes to the full story. In addition, kindergarten students learn that you read a book left to right and top to bottom. Students need to be exposed to different types of books, including those that tell a story, concept books, and nonfiction texts. Repeated practice with numerous books is what builds these skills. Research states that kindergartners should be reading at least 10 books a week with high success. Our classrooms do not currently have the quantity or quality of books necessary to build this reading behavior for our students. Teacher’s College has established recommended texts for classroom libraries at every grade level. Although we could not purchase the full libraries, it would be wonderful for our students if we could purchase ten of the recommended titles for each classroom. This helps move us toward Dr. Price’s goal of a consistent and rigorous curriculum across the district. As we raise the necessary funds, we will provide the same books to each of the classrooms in the district, beginning with kindergarten and first grade classes. |