It's three weeks into the school year, but it's never too soon to prepare for the next stage of our education - HIGH SCHOOL! My 7th and 8th graders need support this year to build up their reading, writing, research, and technology skills to be ready for the upper grades and all its challenges.
My students are 7th and 8th graders with a variety of special needs including learning disabilities, dyslexia, ADHD, autism, and other health impairments.
They spend most of their days in the general education setting, interacting with their peers and performing the same tasks as the rest of the students in their grades. However, they need additional supports to be successful with these tasks, and technology is such a powerful support for them. My students are motivated to do well in their classes and take advantage of all the additional resources my school provides to them - tutoring, after school enrichment programs, athletics, and special education resource services. As their teacher, it is my job to provide them with as many resources as I can to ensure their success in school, so I would like to provide my students with a Chromebook we can use together to help them improve their classwork, writing, research, and general technology skills.
My Project
My students have weekly reading/writing assignments that would be easier to complete with the use of a Chromebook. Each week they must find a current events article from a major publishing company - CNN, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, etc. - and write about the article. Every three weeks they have a book report on a different book due. They also write several lengthier papers a year. For those students who have difficulty writing, a Chromebook will assist them with note-taking, organizing their ideas, revising written work, and collaborating with others via email and document sharing sites like the Google Drive. We will also use the Chromebook for research and to prepare for district testing that will occur online later this spring. This major testing will require students to read passages, answer questions, and compose essays on the computer, and will determine the high school programs they are eligible for. A Chromebook will allow the necessary test prep my students need.
We all live in an age of constantly evolving technology, with new computers, phones, apps, and other products being developed daily.
My students will be required to successfully use all these devices when they get to the upper grades, yet don't have full access to them now. Providing my class with a Chromebook will allow them to use the technology they need to be successful in their classes now and prepare them for their future educational experiences.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Lukosavich and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.