Background
I teach U. S. History to young students who range from 13 to 16 years of age. A percentage of these will be repeating the 8th grade due to failing grades. The basic demographic breakdown for these students is 35% African-American, 26% Hispanic, 21% white. Like students in other low-income schools and poverty-laced school districts, many of my students are part of single- parent households with limited income. Many of my students must also care for younger siblings, a duty that takes away their ability to focus on homework or what they learned at school during the day. A small number of my students are involved in gang activities. All of these issues make school a refuge, a safe place to interact with friends outside of their complicated living conditions, not a place to focus on learning.
Complicating learning even further, the vast majority of my students who can read are limited in their comprehension, with many reading at four to five grade levels below 8th grade. To fulfill state mandates for U. S. History, I must introduce my struggling reading students to complex historical and informational texts. It is a genuine struggle to engage and reach my students with the necessary information they need to complete the state requirements.
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