Inspire Spanish Speakers to Read

School:: South Walton High School
Subject:: Literacy
Teacher:: Valentina Pilonieta
: Cory Champion
Students Impacted:: 100
Grade:: 9-12
Date:: October 2, 2019

Investor

Thank you to the following investor for funding this grant.

The Alys Foundation - $868.48

Goal

Seventeen years ago I arrived from Venezuela to a 7th grade classroom in Delaware. I spoke no English. In ELA a teacher handed me "The Giver" (El Dador) in Spanish allowing me to keep up with my English speaking classmates and inspiring me to read for the rest of my life. Spanish speakers in the U.S. are forever disconnected from their language. They may speak at home, but rarely will they continue to nourish their vocabulary through reading, writing and listening to proper Spanish. Our goal is to allow our Spanish speaking students to read in their native language the similar literature their fellow students are reading in ELA, at the same time as we inspire them to read at home. By creating a small library filled with English literature in Spanish and Spanish literature we will open a door to discovery, skill building, and imagination for our school's Hispanic community.

What will be done with my students

Students will check out a new book every quarter. They can select books based on their interest. Once their work is completed, they will be allowed to read in Spanish class. However, this activity is primarily intended for home. As they read they will be asked to identify new words and add them to a book of words (dictionary) where they will define and write sentences using them. They will submit their dictionaries at the end of the quarter for evaluation. As teachers we will evaluate the student's effort and their understanding of new vocabulary. At the same time, students will get reflection questions to help them dig deeper into the literature and to teach them to read for a purpose.

Benefits to my students

In order for student's to learn a second language, they must have a strong literary foundation in their home language. This project will build on their reading, writing and analyzing skills in Spanish so that students can carry these over to learn English. At the same time, students will learn to love reading.

Budget Narrative

We are asking for 8 copies of 10 books in order to start our library for Spanish speakers and any other student interested in reading in Spanish. We plan to spend the $868.48 plus any shipping cost associated with the order. Our total may come close to $900. It will be a modest but very rich library for our students to enjoy.

Items

#	Item	Cost
1	Matar a un risueñor 10.75 x 8	$86.00
2	Rebelion en la granja 6.95 x 8	$55.60
3	George Orwell 1984 8.73 x 8	$69.84
4	Señor de las moscas 8.44 x 8	$67.52
5	Cuando era puertorriqueña 14.95 x 8	$119.60
6	El alquimista 13.10 x 8	$104.80
7	El dador 7.71 x 8	$61.68
8	La casa en mango street 11.98 x 8	$95.84
9	El murmullo de las abejas 12.95 x 8	$103.60
10	Diario de una adolescente 13 x 8	$104.00
	Total:	$868.48

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