After the EF5 tornado my students lost all of use of textbooks, black line masters, formula sheets and countless paper resources. With special needs kids any change is monumental but now they have nothing to begin the school year. This makes their task daunting.
Students work in a special needs resource classroom.
Classes have students who have multiple disabilities and include Traumatic Brain Injury, Autism, Learning Disabilities, Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities, and Mental Retardation. On top of this they will now have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the tornado's aftermath. Secondary teachers will be receiving training in recognizing PTSD and finding appropriate ways to deal with students who may have these issues.
My Project
Since students will have no textbooks and the high school is going totally computer-based, these students will need a way to take homework help with them. To this end I have requested a high-end video camcorder that can have videos uploaded directly to the school's network as well as a tripod that can be used on a table or on the floor. The idea is for students to make video podcasts to be used as homework help so that online Math and Science podcast libraries can be created and used by all math and science students. Additionally, DVDs can also be burned. Finally, both Math and Science functional projects will be recorded as well so that students can leave class with their own methods and project portfolios.
Often, exceptional needs students graduate "to the couch".
These students must be integrated into our communities and workplaces by developing 21st century skills. They should have high expectations of themselves to succeed but they also need the skill set to be successful.
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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 Mr. Schnur and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.