My students need Lego blocks, K'Nex and wooden blocks to begin our STEM centers. These imaginative and experimental play materials are needed for engineering problem solving.
I am the Media Coordinator responsible for 564 students in the school. I decided to include STEM centers in the library to enhance our technology program. The classroom teachers try hard to incorporate STEM lessons into the curriculum but the day doesn't leave time for important imaginative play.
Our school is located in the western end of North Carolina.
The students in our K-5 school are economically disadvantage. The small community has limited federal and state funds, and those are used to promote technology that students of the 21st century desperately need to live in a globally competitive society.
The students come to school eager to learn. Our teachers care about each student and create a rich learning environment to support our mission that all children learn. We have 25 classrooms and additional support from other programs. The school's focus is on teaching the curriculum. Students lack the time in the classroom to be creative through design and development of STEM skill projects to build problem solving and inquiry. North Carolina's Read to Achieve laws have stifled developmental kindergarten programs and inquiry based learning forcing teachers to stray from the skills needed to develop out-of-the box problem solving and creativity early and throughout elementary school.
My Project
The Maker's Space, also known as MakeyMakey Programs throughout the communities nationwide, has encouraged me to begin to include these concepts in the media classes at our school throughout the day. These activities fit well within the curriculum. The students will learn how to use problem solving and imagination to build and create different projects. They will use a set number of Lego blocks to build a design using imagination and problem solving. Our first grade 3-5 project will be to design a block house. Then, by using different measures of forced air from a hand pump to an air compressor, make predictions and test the data as to how much force the structure can withstand. In grades K-2, students will create the tallest structures they can before gravity makes their structure fall over using different kinds of blocks. Using KNex, the students can build and test small movable machines building STEM skills. These projects will require learners of all ages at our school to become problem solvers
In today's society, we are developing student's who, for the most part, do not have the imaginations they need to be the leaders of the future.
Some students are by nature out-of-the box thinkers, but most need time and materials to develop and experiment with problem solving and creativity. The donations to this project will help give economically disadvantaged students the opportunities to experiment and create together by promoting STEM thinking, while also creating a brighter future for the next generation.
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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. Ducker and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.