My students need a storage center, K'NEX sets, origami paper, duct tape, thread, cards, friendship bracelets, scissors and organizers to allow them to work creatively and extend their learning out of the classroom.
Our media center is busy with students before school. What better time is there to engage them in creative exploration of science and art? We would like to add programming to our before school hours that include simple machines, duct tape artwork, origami, friendship bracelets, and card games.
Our school is filled with a diverse population of over 600 6th grade students.
Our students are eager to try new things and many of them flood our media center before school. If you were to visit our school, you would see over 100 students using our media center to read, find books, and play computer games. We would like to expand our students' options to engage them in positive exploratory learning before the school day begins.
We are part of a public school district located in a suburb of Minneapolis, MN. In addition to cultural diversity, we also have a fair amount of economic diversity. Adding these additional creative opportunities to our before school atmosphere will give students a chance to explore and play with new concepts that connect to science and art.
By adding these programs to our media center, students will also be able to access these exploratory options during science class to assist teachers in creating differentiated lessons.
My Project
Picture a media center filled with 100+ students actively engaged in self-directed, independent learning. Some students are building a bridge that has to withstand the stress of a bag of sugar. Others are writing a story board to create a video using our green screen. A few students are reading "how to" books to teach themselves how to make a new type of friendship bracelet, a duct tape wallet, or a new origami figure.
All of these students are learning to feel the joy in gaining new skills and building their confidence to be independent learners and problem solvers.
I, as media specialist, will move among the groups helping to guide them as they explore. Other teachers will also be welcome to teach a skill or interact with our students.
These activities will help the kids build their creative thinking skills. They will also help students build interpersonal communication skills with their peers and teachers as they collaborate on projects and assist one another.
If we receive all of these items to add to our before school programming, we will see an increase in students' abilities to problem-solve and think critically.
Additionally, we are giving students a welcoming, engaging place to come before school. If things are well received by the staff and students, we will look to open these items up to our students after school as well. If students feel excited about these activities and projects, they will start each school day with positive experiences.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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. Weatherman and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.