Teacher: Minerva Richardson
School: Merit Academy
District: RE-2 Woodland Park School District
District Website: www.merit.academy
School Address: 500 E. Kelly's Road, Woodland Park, CO 80863
Grade Level: 1st Grade
Region: Central Mountains
Project Title: READ for SUCCESS
Category: Literacy
Amount Requested: $2,000

Project Description:
I truly believe, and research shows, that students get better at reading with practice. My students need all the resources to help them practice reading daily, both in our classroom and at home. Like sports, musical instruments, and even exercise, the more we work at something, the more we improve. Students who are excited about reading and who have high-quality, engaging books at their fingertips daily will grow and develop as readers. Students with increased opportunities to read will build their stamina for reading and develop a daily habit and a lifelong love of reading. As with any task, the learner must be motivated in order to be successful. My request is for a classroom lending library that will motivate my students to read voraciously.

Project Goals:
Read for Success - Long term: to foster a love of reading within my students.
Short term:
1. To ensure that my students will take home a book to read at their reading level.
2. To increase the volume of reading they are doing (as suggested by CCSS).
3. To motivate my students to spend more time at home reading daily.
4. To inspire my students to talk about books with their peers first thing in the morning.
5. To get my students excited to read and ready to enter homes with a bag of good-fit books prepared to curl up and read.

This project is important for a number of reasons. First, students are motivated to read when their teacher is excited, book choices are presented to them, and they have the opportunity to make their own choices based on interest and ability. Secondly, many of my students are below average readers and have come from different backgrounds with few resources. They deserve a classroom lending library full of high-quality fiction and informational texts. Finally, this project will help build a community of readers who get excited about titles, genres, characters, and stories.

What may sound like a simple grant request (books, rolling bookshelves, and book bags to travel back and forth to home and school) will truly make a huge difference in the lives of my students. A portion of the funding will focus on informational texts so students can learn and build background knowledge for content areas and research projects. I will also have fiction titles, poetry, and songbooks to borrow a variety of genres.

Total Amount: $1,943.97

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