In our small, rural, high-poverty school, students come from many different cultural backgrounds. The differences in ethnic groups and cultures heavily influence beliefs and attitudes; and students often differ in their upbringing, values, and future plans. This does create some distractions in the classroom because of occasional tension; however, it also creates opportunities for students to learn appreciation and respect for others.
I teach at a rural, Title 1 school where a majority of students come from low-income households.
An issue I've found being a rural, high-poverty school is the students’ lack of experience and background knowledge needed to fully understand and analyze the literature in my class. However, my students are engaged in their learning, and they are proud of themselves when they analyze complex literature.
My Project
My classroom is a student-centered classroom where students learn through small-group collaborative projects and work stations. Many people don't picture small-group stations for high school seniors, but I know students are more engaged in this classroom setting. I am a facilitator of my students' learning, so I constantly walk around the room giving individualized help and working with small groups of students. While this has many advantages, one of the disadvantages is that I can't be in five different groups at the same time.
Having a few Amazon Echos in the classroom will be a resource for students who need information while I am working with others.
Alexa on an Amazon Echo can explain historical context, define words, suggest synonyms, give correct spelling, and so much more. It will be like having a teaching assistant available to give students information they need for their assignments while I work with other students.
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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. Pippin and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
