My students need reusable materials to be used to accomplish various building and design projects requiring collaboration and brainstorming. I am requesting Maker Kits and K'NEX.
I teach in an elementary school with grades PreK through 6th grade in Alabama. We are in a rural area and are a Title 1 school. Our school is a Leader in Me school and we teach the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and how to work together to accomplish a goal. We have developed school wide clubs where students are allowed to pick a club they would like to attend. I teach the Architects club for grades 3-6. This is a diverse group of students and they are such a joy to work with. I do not have any supplies given to me to use during my club time. I have researched and developed various STEM activities that require collaboration, brainstorming, and building to use in the past. I want their club time to be fun and enjoyable while at the same time teach them valuable life skills.
My students were so proud of their collaboration and results when they worked together to solve problems and compete against each other.
I group them so that they compete against students their own age on the assigned project. They all love to be challenged and work hard to succeed.
My Project
The supplies requested in this project will bring life to many opportunities for my students in our architect group. I use STEM projects to challenge my students to think outside the box, brainstorm, design, and build social skills. This requires building and use of physical supplies to test their theories. With K'nex pieces I can use more challenging and inviting activities to keep my students engaged.
K'nex building materials are extremely versatile and can be used to construct most anything imaginable.
They are also reusable and can be used for years to come. The various shapes and sizes of the pieces allow for construction of most any shape imaginable such as round, square, 2D and 3D shapes. They can also be used to make vehicles in order to incorporate force and motion into our STEM challenges. I can easily use them for all of our projects and provide a challenging learning environment. Having reusable supplies means that I can continue to offer higher educational activities without worry of what I will do for resources.
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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. Godwin and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
