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.
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I currently teach 11th grade ELA in a low-income, rural high school in Michigan and have been trying to find a way to encourage students to find some intrinsic motivation to read independently. While this can be difficult with busy upperclassmen, I've noticed that students are more apt to pick up a book if they are readily available and in their line of sight. Last year, while I was cleaning out my closets, I placed a few copies of 1984 on my back counter. What surprised me was how many students asked to check them out, even while being involved in a class novel study. Since then I have been slowly growing my classroom library, as to encourage students to check them out and read beyond the assigned novels in class. While I have been growing my library through sporadic student and parent donations, and frequent personal purchases at the local used book store, I am still lacking the depth that I believe my students need, want, and deserve.
About my class
I currently teach 11th grade ELA in a low-income, rural high school in Michigan and have been trying to find a way to encourage students to find some intrinsic motivation to read independently. While this can be difficult with busy upperclassmen, I've noticed that students are more apt to pick up a book if they are readily available and in their line of sight. Last year, while I was cleaning out my closets, I placed a few copies of 1984 on my back counter. What surprised me was how many students asked to check them out, even while being involved in a class novel study. Since then I have been slowly growing my classroom library, as to encourage students to check them out and read beyond the assigned novels in class. While I have been growing my library through sporadic student and parent donations, and frequent personal purchases at the local used book store, I am still lacking the depth that I believe my students need, want, and deserve.