5 E's: Everything is Observable (Touchable) with Smartboard!
My students need a touch-board and projector to get the instant connection needed to grasp concepts. Science involves hands-on activities fostering comprehension and generalization.
This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
I serve students in a departmentalized fifth grade setting. I teach 65 students consisting of three classes throughout the day. They all have different needs. Every morning I greet my students with a "Good morning" and as soon as they walk in they see the sign that reads "You are my sunshine".
The students are primarily Haitian, African-American and Hispanic, respectively.
Some are English Language Learners as well as in the Exceptional Student Education program.
Many of the students come with their basic needs met in order to learn the new skills. However, others are lacking in so many areas which poses challenges to the daily teaching and learning process. Sometimes I am confronted with challenging moments of delivering a lesson to all students without having to lower my expectations and what I believe in. I truly believe that every child is capable of learning at their potential level.
The majority of the students come every day ready to learn. Others need the motivation, the reward, the scaffolding and every other strategy in between to produce work. Depending on the science lesson, sometimes everyone shows a willingness to learn. The school is a Title I school and strives to meet the needs of every child. The school has a welcoming atmosphere.
My Project
The touch board and projector will serve as motivational tools for students to focus and become active learners. Friday is lab day. They will ask every week the same question; "Ms. Cesar, are we going to the lab on Friday?" It is equally important for them to show much interest throughout the week whether we are in class or in the science lab. The mini science lab activities can be done in the classroom. Students will use the board to 1) review weekly vocabulary words through activities such as 'Jeopardy' and 'Hang Man' 2) match pictures with words, 3) take turns to answer the daily practice question, and best of all 4) present results or data from a lab activity in graphs.
Students are required to keep a writer's science folder and a journal. In the writer's folder, students identify the daily objective or skill by working with the essential question. In the journal, they complete the "They Do" or 'exit slip' activity. The touch board will enhance those activities.
No matter how motivated the students are, they tend to shy away from writing.
science entails lots of writing. They are engaged continuously in the scientific method. The students are more likely to write a problem statement and formulate a hypothesis. The challenge comes in when they have to interpret the data and write their conclusion. This project will not only aid in fostering intrinsic learners, but enable students to become better writers and think like scientists through technology use.
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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 Ms. Cesar and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
