"Mrs. S, how I am EVER going to use this math in real life?!" This is the question I am asked daily by at least one student, and I want to not only tell them, but show them how they can apply their learning to something they all enjoy in real life: animation.
I teach 4th grade math and science in a low socioeconomic school in Texas.
There are 70 students in 4th grade in varying levels of ability, but all of them love to apply technology and real-life application to their learning. Our students are smart, kind, and hungry to have new experiences that they may not otherwise have the opportunity to encounter. Many of the students here are lacking in enriching experiences and I want to provide them with as much as I can in the short time that I have them.
My Project
The activity that inspired the need for the scanner is a geometry project. The students will be creating a digital "flip book" animation by first drawing and plotting their ideas on graph paper, then scanning the drawings in and inserting them into a PowerPoint that will allow them to create the animation. The students are required to show each of the transformations (rotation, reflection, and translation) while keeping their figures congruent and properly plotted on the graph paper. This project not only reinforces transformations, but gives them graphing, plotting, and precision skills that they will need in the future. Adding the scanner and Powerpoint element allows the students to become animators and lets them see how they can use these skills in real life. I believe that this equipment can and will be used for much more, and all the students will benefit from having it available.
By donating to this project, you, as the donor, will have a hand in helping economically disadvantaged children use technology to learn, an opportunity many of them will not have otherwise.
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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. Shirley and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.