Reading, thinking, discussing, creating, writing, and sharing, are the skills I want to foster in my students, and the skills they will need to be successful, no matter what path they choose in life. I'm always looking for new ways to get students excited about learning.
Our elementary school is home to a diverse population of about 800 children, and as the library media specialist, I serve them all!
I want my library program to be relevant to the curriculum, as well as to my students' lives, so I strive to provide connections to the things they are learning about, and the topics they are interested in.
My Project
Ernest Hemingway once said that prose is architecture, and we are taking that advice literally, with our LEGO Story Starter Writing Project! The goal of the project is to strengthen the writing skills of our students, by offering them a different way to brainstorm their ideas. As students work with the LEGO components to build story scenes, they are able to develop a topic and visualize the details, and then, they can begin thinking about how to translate the events of their story into written form. The hands-on experience is especially beneficial for our active, kinesthetic learners. With our LEGO Story Starter program, writing is no longer a silent, isolated experience for our children.
Students who first "build" their stories using LEGO resources, tend to include more details in their final writing.
They also create more complete stories, featuring a beginning, middle, and end. It's easier for them to make a connection between the spoken word and the written word, and they can talk about their writing more fluently. We received a small grant from our PTA to purchase two beginning LEGO kits and teacher guides, but we need more, in order to accommodate a whole class of learners.
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. June and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
