Think about how difficult it would be to understand what a gram is, or how much a milliliter is without having anything to make a real-life connection with... this is what our kids are expected to do on a regular basis.
We are 21 of the brightest,most inquisitive fourth graders in our school of over 600 students.
We love to question and investigate things that puzzle us, in fact, we love our math workshop and the tools we have to help us investigate, but we don't always have all the tools we need due to budget cuts.
Our school is made up of a mixture of socio-economic groups.
My Project
This year our classroom began to use the math workshop approach. This approach encourages children to use inquiry and investigation to reach solutions to problems. In the math workshop classroom, we give the students a problem, offer various tools for them to use in their investigations, and then give them the opportunity to share and explain their solutions. We have used this method with much success, but we have run into the problem of not always having adequate tools for all the math concepts incorporated into our state standards. Measurement is one of those areas that we do not have a lot of tools to offer the students to help their understanding. This is unfortunate because measurement is a very exciting concept that children are usually very interested in, and it is a great tie-in with science instruction. By obtaining these materials, it will allow students to have plenty of hands-on investigations and make real connections with measurement.
The beakers, meter sticks, and thermometers that I am requesting for my classroom will make an impact with my children for years to come.
Young children are curious by nature, and love to investigate, but if not continuously encouraged, they will lose that curiosity. I want to create a classroom of life long learners and problem solvers. These skills are so important, not just academically, but in all aspects of life. Please join me in keeping that love of learning alive in these children and my future classes yet to come.
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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. Shuckhart and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
