My students need over a dozen math manipulatives, such as Ten Frames, Magnetic Math Activity Bins and Rainbow Sentence Strips and activities such as Shapes Match Up and Wild Animal counters, in order to take a hands-on approach to mastering concepts in the common core and to stay engaged in their learning.
My classroom is a lively place where learning is happening constantly! If you walked into my classroom, you would see students involved in their daily learning with me and each other and wanting more! This could more easily happen if students had more authentic math manipulatives at their daily disposal.
My students are eager 5 and 6 year olds who are like little sponges-absorbing everything they hear and get their hands on in my classroom!
They are constantly having "aha" moments and discovering so many connections in math on their own as we continue to explore concepts in our classroom.
Just the other day one student said, "I noticed on our counting chart in the calendar area that the number above "25" has a "5" in it and that the number above that is "5." So I then asked him, "Well, if this pattern continues, what do you think the number below "25" will be?" He thought about it and then had to count on and then came up with "35." We are 5 days away from seeing if his "discovery" holds true! It is these moments that keep me going and makes me love my job more and more!
My school is very unique in the sense that we have many different family backgrounds and needs of our students. They learn to work together no matter their differences and are able to learn from one another.
My Project
My students need over a dozen math manipulatives, such as Ten Frames, Magnetic Math Activity Bins and Rainbow Sentence Strips and activities such as Shapes Match Up and Wild Animal counters, in order to take a hands-on approach to mastering concepts in the common core and to stay engaged in their learning. If my students are awarded these amazing math manipulatives, they would be used in several ways. One way would be in small group centers. I would have the correct resources to meet individual needs in a fun and engaging way. Students would be able to rotate through small group centers and practice skills in a developmentally appropriate way. I would also be able to use these resources one on one with students. I would be able to work with varying levels of students and master skills and the common core with struggling students. I would also be able to meet the needs of my advanced students and have them use them in inquiry based investigations. We would be able to use counters and such for patterning, measuring, comparing, adding, and subtracting. The skies the limit when you have the correct resources you need in order to engage all students in concept skills and mastery. Having enough manipulatives for all students to participate with at the same time is very powerful!
These donations will help my students in many ways.
First, just having enough hands-on counters make any math lesson more exciting and engaging for all participating! Students learn so much more when they are the active participants, not the watchers! Saying this, engagement also helps with classroom management. One has fewer problems when all students are engaged, which means they have less time to think about goofing around. So much more will be accomplished in each lesson!
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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. Yaeger and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.