As an ESE teacher, I took on a position to take struggling students and try to find ways to present information in a way that they can understand and apply. What I want most of all is for my students to be able to read fluently, because the ability to read will help in all subjects.
I am an ESE Resource teacher for three grade levels (K,1,3).
I see about 30 different kids a day, most of them 2-3 times a day. I have the students that struggle. The ones that don't always "get it" on the first try. We need alternative options to speak to their different learning styles.
Most of the older students want to quit when it gets difficult and think of school as a place comparable to prison. They want to go home and play video games.
I would like my students to think of my classroom as a safe place to learn and grow. I want to show them all of the options available to them. One of the options I'd like to share is the modality of an pad. I want to show them that video games can be educational and can help us reach our ultimate goal of being able to read fluently.
My Project
My students all know what it's like to play on a cell phone or computer, whether it be Angry Birds or Temple Run or what have you. I would like to show them that apps can be used to help us become better, stronger students.
As a beginning teacher, I don't have a lot of classroom materials. I make it work with what I have. However, I really feel my students could really use an iPad. I think it could help my difficult concepts come to life in an exciting way.
There are so many apps out there focused on educational motives. My students could practice their letter sounds, practice blending sounds to read words, play game driven by correctly solving math problems, practice writing cursive, etc.
I would use the iPad in my lesson plans as a center for my students. Depending on the grade level, which app was played would differ. For instance, Kindergarten could play Dora's Skywriting to practice making their letters.
I believe that the iPad could be extremely beneficial!
My students struggle every day.
They get discouraged by mounds of paperwork that they can't complete. I think another option could be a bright spot for them. Working on the iPad could serve as a reward that ultimately gets them a little closer to being the students I believe they can grow to be.
The iPad also speaks to several learning modalities: visual, auditory, and tactile. That's very important for students with learning disabilities, especially those with ADD/ADHD.
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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 Ms. Lawhon and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
