Ben Franklin said, "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." Each year the number of special needs students in my general education classroom increases, yet our textbooks and curriculum continue to increase in difficulty that doesn't adapt to their education situation. This leads to frustration in my lowest students; though my special needs students are at times reluctant learners, if you challenge and involve them at their ability level they become VERY engaged in their learning with huge impacts.
Middle school students crave personalized learning- in our classroom, we interact with history in a personal way that brings the past to life for every student at their own level.
My students need the flexibility of portable technology to be involved in their learning at their own ability levels and in a variety of classroom settings beyond just desks and textbooks. They need tablets to allow them to move as they learn and interact with the past.
My Project
Middle school students need 21st Century technology and STEM skills to prepare them for the colleges, jobs, and careers of the future. This is especially true for special needs students who struggle with traditional classroom technology like laptops. These special learners need technology that is portable and lightweight to help them move around the classroom and school. Having the set of tablets will allow for differentiated structures of learning in my classes. Students can scan QR codes to bring vocabulary terms to life through images or video, such as the inventors of the Scientific Revolution. They can read texts at various reading levels that support the topics of study, such as artists of the Renaissance. They can learn collaboratively by sharing devices. They can move from place to place in the school, using QR codes to map the Age of Exploration. Many special needs students struggle with the high academic content and reading of our 6th grade textbooks, but with tablets, these students also can download and use historical apps and research collections to help them take ownership of their learning at an appropriate level instead of just being passive observers of the textbook.
In Social Studies 6, we don't just learn about history- we experience history through interactive technologies that bring it to life.
Though our students have access to laptops, they need lightweight, portable technology that is adaptive to movement around the school in different settings. We have borrowed tablets in the past with great success, but that situation no longer exists. Our social classroom needs it's own set of tablets for more opportunities to personalize learning. These tablets are the sort of tool that will allow our classroom to be flexible and meet the needs of all learners in a variety of educational settings.
More than half 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
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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. Catanzaro and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
