"If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow." - John Dewey. Truer words have never been spoken about teaching in the year 2017. Academic expectations have never been higher, and my goal as a teacher is to help my children achieve amazing things and foster a genuine love of learning!
Second grade is a magical time when students explore the world around them and immerse themselves fully into their learning.
The 26 second graders in my class are eager and enthusiastic students who attend school in a suburban school district in Illinois. Although about 50% of our students come from high poverty situations, they remain motivated in school.
My Project
Enriching my students' learning is a goal of mine every year. This year, I would like to introduce opportunities for STEAM learning. STEAM is an acronym that stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics.
During weekly STEAM activities, students will be encouraged to solve engineering challenges using the Lakeshore Learning materials that I am requesting.
The introduction of STEAM activities in our classroom will encourage students to become creative and critical thinkers, problem solvers, and hands-on learners.
The materials I have requested will make a huge impact on my students' learning. These hands-on activities are projects the students can complete in small groups or independently. Students will be challenged to create various structures using the Design & Build Engineering Centers and Young Architects Design Blocks.
They will develop spatial reasoning skills using the Blocks & Blueprints Learning Center. Gravity, force, and momentum concepts will be explored as students use Create a Chain Reaction STEM set. Finally, students will be challenged to create a structure that will withstand the force of an earthquake using the Surviving the Quake Engineering Kit.
These STEAM learning activities will bring endless learning to our classroom! Please consider helping this dream become a reality for my students.
More than a third of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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. Deering and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
