My fifth grade classroom community has been developed around the idea that we are readers, first and foremost.  Students are encouraged to view themselves as readers through valuable shared reading experiences, independent reading choices, and sharing good books with one another.  The students have had valuable experiences reading The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo this year, a nonfiction study of Ellis Island, as well as Lost Star: The Amelia Earhart Story and the Landmark books Martin Luther King Jr. biography.  In addition, the students have had access to independent reading opportunities through Philadelphia READS and the books they provide for teacher libraries.  

As valuable as our novel studies have been, students have had to access many of these experiences through the copying of books.  We have no classroom sets of any of these print-rich texts, and it is too important not to provide.  With these funds, I will purchase a class set (25) of our fantasy novel study Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien.  The study of this unit will focus on elements of plot, author's purpose in the nuances of the text, theme development, and figurative language.  My students have found their experiences with these rich stories to be invaluable, and I think that before the year is over it is important for them to have these experiences with the actual novel.  

25 copies @ http://www.amazon.com/Mrs-Frisby-Rats-Robert-OBrien/dp/0689710682

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