My students need cozy places on a new carpet to discover the joy of reading, a globe to see just how big their world is, and some yoga mats to keep them calm and grounded.
Returning to school after the summer can be tough for students, but starting school with a brand new teacher, brand new classmates, in a brand new room can be terrifying. My students need a place where they feel welcome, safe, and comfortable--a home away from home.
My students this year will collectively form a new classroom community.
Most of them will be moving up from the 2nd grade, but will all be coming from different places, so are likely to not know each other. And while I have never met any of my students either, I do know that it will be a challenging and frightening time for them. The most important thing for my students to know in the beginning is that their classroom is a place where they can feel safe and comfortable, as those are two of the most important conditions that must be in place for students to learn.
My classroom is located within a self-contained special eduction building, so all of my students will have moderate to severe special needs, including learning disabilities, emotional disabilities, and developmental disabilities. Safe and accessible learning environments are especially crucial for my students, as this will ensure that they are able to rise to the high standards for academic success that I have set for them
My Project
Reading is the foundation of learning. Due to this indisputable fact, I have done everything in my power to ensure that my classroom is a place where reading is enjoyed, valued and done frequently. I want my students to be able to get lost in a good book while comfortably sitting in the classroom's reading nook.
Complimentary to my students' physical comfort while learning will be their ability to stay calm and relaxed. Research has shown that yoga and music both have incredibly beneficial effects on students in school, so I will provide my students with structured weekly yoga sessions, as well as the opportunity to tune out with some headphones when they are overwhelmed or anxious. And finally, my students will interact with the world around them on a daily basis through community walks, studying current events, and correspondence with pen-pals, and I believe it is important for them to know exactly what their world looks like through the use of an interactive globe.
This project will provide my students with opportunities they may not have had in their previous classrooms.
While mainstream reading, writing, and math curricula are crucial to a student's success, it is the environment in which they learn, the factors surrounding the learning process itself, and how that learning is supplemented that truly make a difference in a child's learning.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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. Klatsky and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
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