The 2nd grade teachers and reading specialists team at Breton Downs Elementary sent a grant request to the Foundation after auditing the 2nd grade library and noting a shortage in the options available for the students. The specific sets of high interest fiction and nonfiction leveled books they selected and requested funds for are part of book collections curated by The Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University.
The teachers shared with the Foundation that during Readers Workshop time at school, students self-select texts at their reading level. The goal of student choice is to increase interest in reading. As noted in Michigan’s Essential Literacy Practices, research shows best practice is to provide “opportunities for children to engage in the reading of materials of their choice every day.” This supports student motivation, engagement and promotes reading with urgency.
The second grade classrooms at Breton Downs previously had a very limited number (approximately 15-20) below grade level books for each reading level. It is important to keep boosting classroom libraries with below benchmark resources so that all readers can experience the same thrill of choice in reading. The below benchmark readers allow students to practice the same text to text skills that are taught during mini-lessons with rich texts at a “just right” level. The ultimate goal is to have all student readers meet grade level reading expectations.
Upon receiving the new books, Breton Downs 2nd grade teacher, Kristen Borak shared, "Students and teachers are loving the addition of these books to our classroom libraries! As you might imagine, books get a lot of use during our day. Second graders cheered when they saw the new collection of benchmark readers being added to our nonfiction library"
