My students need 2 Dash & Dot Wonder Packs to nurture their problem-solving skills, logic and creativity, and to take our computer programming lessons to a whole new level.
Our library makerspace is a place where students are provided opportunities to engage in innovative creative thinking and collaborative problem solving. Coding tools would help further students' understanding of the digital world in which they live.
Our school serves approximately 400 students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.
My students come from all walks of life and represent many races and ethnicities. Nearly one-fourth of the student body is identified as requiring free and reduced price lunch. The number of children in poverty is likely higher, but informal inquiry reveals that many families do not apply for these services due to perceived negative stigma. We are a Title One school. We currently have over 100 students speaking English as a second language, with 27 different languages being spoken at our school.
We are seeking to help our students develop creativity, confidence, design-thinking and teamwork by providing many hands-on learning activities involving STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) in our library makerspace.
My Project
The 2 Dash & Dot Wonder Packs will be an integral part of my school's coding initiative. Our entire school participates in the Hour of Code, which helps teach coding and computer programming skills to children. Fourth and fifth graders also follow the code.org curriculum. Dash & Dot will be used to provide another level of coding experience for all students in grades K-5 since this programming tool can adapt to all levels.
In our library makerspace, students will work in small groups to develop their collaboration and communication skills through using the Dash and Dot Wonder Pack. As students learn programming concepts by using coding toys, they will progress to creating more complex algorithms.
Programming is a rapidly growing field and technology is a vital part of 21st century learning.
Dash & Dot will provide my students with the opportunity to collaborate and create programs that allow the robots to interact. They will learn in new and exciting ways. My students will develop higher-order critical thinking skills and learn creative problem solving. Using Dash & Dot in our library makerspace will help our students cultivate their skills for the opportunities of today's world.
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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. Macdonald and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
