My students need laptops and a battery back-up system for programming Lego robots, designing prosthetic arms, coding with A.L.I.C.E. 3.0, and other STEM activities.
This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
Our classroom is project-based collaborative learning in action -"Teams for Hands-On, Minds-On." Everyone has funny nicknames such as "Afro Puffs," "Chicken Fingers," "Old Man Joe," "Jingle Bells," and "Sunny Delight."
Our morning routine includes ClassCraft random events, DOL, Analogies, Geography, and MegaMath.
Clever, creative, and a little crazy describes my fourth-grade class.
They love reading, cleaning the lunchroom, and our mathercise routine after lunch. It is a fun family in that all 28 are comfortably familiar with one another's personalities. Monthly character ed themes, thematic lessons, Chocolate Month (ELA), Mile High May (Science/Math), and rotating seats and roles assigned weekly help keep things fresh. Students, at times, teach me maybe more than what I have to offer them.
Glitter, calculators, and phones are contraband. Interactive, laughter, amazing, messy, and organized fun are ways others have described us. It all works because our school focuses on student-centered approaches to meet the needs of every child.
My Project
Educational technology is a big part of our classroom and afterschool robotics program. We will use these laptops to program Lego EV3 robots, for KhanAcademy Math, StoryBoardThat reviews of reading & history, and BrainPop intros to all major subjects. These will be more fully-integrated into the class. The class will become fully interactive when these laptops arrive. The goal is simply to provide all the materials that we need to be successful.
We love building and programming robots. Some even stayed late until 4pm on the half day before Christmas Break began and asked about coming that Saturday!
In the near future, STEM Club will also design prosthetic arms (7th/8th grade) and TinkerCad, build Lego Sumo Bots (4th/6th grade), and explore coding with A.L.I.C.E. 3.2. This year, Phase 1, involves exposure & preparation for Phase 2 - full immersion.
We are seeing girls excited about math & science.
We have students already asking what it takes to become an engineer. This means so much to urban students lacking exposure to robotics, programming, and other STEM fields. Even troublemakers and those diagnosed with ADHD are self-motivated to do STEM. There are options for quiet researchers, inquisitive artists, energetic builders, and any child who is curious about real-world problem-solving. Now, the goal is to use STEM to improve literacy skills.
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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 Mr. Snell and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
