The true strength in a classroom lies in the collaboration of its learners, not in the knowledge of one expert. Imagine a world where everyone works together for the common good. It has to start somewhere. Why not with me, in my classroom?
Our high school is the largest high school in the state of Idaho with 2,200 students, 371 of them with special needs.
The students in my Interpersonal Skills class are between the ages of 14 and 18 and struggle with various social/emotional disorders. Many of these students are from foster homes or single parent homes and have disadvantaged low socioeconomic lifestyles with limited opportunities to socially interact with non-handicapped peers.
Students in my Interpersonal Skills class lack many of the necessary basic skills that could support them as they transition into adulthood. My students lack many of the everyday skills that we take for granted. Through activities that involve active learning, the students participate in their own learning process by becoming involved in activities where they physically become a part of the lesson.
My Project
The students in my Interpersonal Skills class are there to learn how to socially interact with others in various settings and situations in public and private. The games that I am asking for will help to improve my students' self-confidence, sportsmanship, positive assertiveness, relationships, values, leadership, gross motor skills, honesty, feelings of success, and much more. My students need Jumbo Tic-Tac-Toe and Mega Hi-Tower games to get them physically moving by tossing bean bags and stacking and removing blocks.
The very same skills learned in class will be useful to my students as adults in their jobs and with their own families. The games that we will be playing are classic games that many of us played as kids. These games can be played in small groups with teams, teaching team building skills and problem solving. Once the students have learned to play within their own classroom, they will use their skills to take the games to another classroom to teach more severely disabled students how to play. There they will learn empathy and compassion for other students with disabilities.
If these students are going to learn how to socially interact, the best way is to learn in a place where they feel safe.
Playing will help to build self-esteem, perseverance, and positive sportsmanship. In order for these students to be successful in the future after they graduate from high school, they are going to need a lot of practice and a lot of different ways to learn what they need to survive. Their future depends on it.
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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. Hanebutt and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.