My students need an LCD projector to display student work, anchor sets, whole group reading passages and writing samples. My dinosaur overhead needs to become extinct!
Our fourth grade classroom motto is, "Treat your work like gold and share the wealth!" My kids get that, but 27 sets of eyes on one paper is impossible. So is running to a copier to make a transparency for the overhead. Spontaneous sharing, teaching and learning will be possible if you can help!
My students live in an old section of our city where traditions, family values and parent participation in school matter.
We are right on the edge of a very large urban city, in the last art community that keeps revitalizing and reinventing itself all to our parents' credit. Our small neighborhood school is filled with the brick and mortar of yesteryear. Our students are considered some of the top kids in the district. They stand next to other students from the city who are in brand new buildings, with state of the art technology funded by the government and yet are still able to remain academically in the forefront. This is with no funding and a great deal of scraping and begging by their teachers and parents. Their scores are rated in the top for the district, so no additional funding is provided to the building for their education. They have the feeling that they are "technically" out of the loop and don't understand why the new equipment is not equitable in its distribution.
My Project
I feel one of my most important roles this year is to close some of the technology gaps in my classroom and school. My wish is to help my class become 21st century thinkers and learners. This is a small start to what needs to happen in my room. The projector will be followed by a document camera and hopefully then an interactive white board which will change the entire scope of how lessons are delivered, taught and shared. For students to become career and college ready, they need to use much more than a home computer. Technology needs to be in every classroom to make the playing field even. With this projector and soon to follow document camera, I will be able to deliver lessons in a visible way where all eyes can be looking at the same thing at one time. Sharing of text, anchor sets of what work can become and student work can happen at any moment without us having to stop. Interaction can be done whole group as well and small group.
I want my students to understand that not all things in life are fair, however, it is what you do to change the situation that speaks to who you become.
Understanding the world around them and how to maneuver through setbacks is what will build their character and perhaps one day turn them into a donor, a giver and a productive member of their community. This project is important because it shows a positive way to change their classroom for the better. We are following this website together!
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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. Smith and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
