From Shelf to Self: Building Readers for Life

At Ray Elementary School, Stephanie Lopez, along with several other educators including Mirian Lozano, wanted to full immerse their students into the engaging world of reading, by giving them the full experience of being able to select their own books and leaving with the satisfied feeling of being able to read something they truly enjoy. And they were able to do exactly this, thanks to the LEAF-funded grant From Shelf to Self: Building Readers for Life.

"Imagine the excitement on a third-grader's face as they step into a room transformed into their very own bookshop. The tables lined with colorful covers, rows of adventures waiting to be discovered, and a small envelope of “Book Bucks” in hand. For many of our students, this will be the first time they’ve ever “shopped” for books of their very own." - Stephanie Lopez

Purpose

Thanks to the LEAF-funded grant, these third-grade teachers were able to give almost 105 third-grade students the experience of a lifetime. They recognize how access to books at home can be quite limited, and LEAF funding enabled them to change this for their students at their campus. They believed that their students should get to experience the same joy of reading that everyone else does!

They also hoped to spark this joy in a creative way. By giving them the resources to "shop" for books on their own and helping them make their own decisions, they foster independent reading growth, home library development, and equitable access to high-interest texts, especially for those who may have limited access to books at home!

The Impact

By making this a group activity, the teachers are also fostering collaboration, communication, and they are teaching the students how to connect over shared interests. Furthermore, by implementing a peer book swap, they are able to extend the life of this one-time event into a year-long celebration of reading!

Education is multi-faceted, and these teachers took the opportunity by using LEAF-funded resources to improve their students literacy in a creative way, making regular tasks that much more engaging!

A special thank you to our donor community for making grants like this possible!  If you would like to invest in public education and support our mission, please email our office at leaf@lcisd.org.