Imagine what it would feel like if reading, writing, and sharing your ideas with your peers was challenging and, at times, overwhelming . . . Would literacy learning cease to feel fun? What if you could express your thoughts and ideas using something you are familiar with and love, LEGOs?!
My students are 1st-5th graders who need additional support with reading and writing, many of whom are English Learners, at a small, rural school in Northern California.
I try to create a fun and safe learning environment where students are encouraged to take risks, while embracing their strengths and challenges as learners. I strive to create opportunities for my students to participate in purposeful talk to develop their language and thinking skills, while allowing them to learn from and with one another. I also try to find literacy activities that are fun and engaging in hope of keeping students motivated and helping them to perceive reading and writing as positive and attainable. Lastly, I relish opportunities to showcase other types of intelligence that are demonstrated through building, art, and other forms of creative, critical thinking. Many of my students shine in these areas, and sharing what they know helps boost their confidence and increases their willingness to take risks.
My Project
When I heard about the LEGO Education StoryStarter program at a conference, I was intrigued. Then, when I received the sample pack in the mail and tried it with my students, I was AMAZED! I was especially impressed by what I saw with one student, whose interest in reading and writing I had never managed to fully pique. He was actually talking to the students around him about what he was building, and using vivid details to describe what was happening with the figures and blocks on the table in front of him. He willingly shared his creation in front of the group, using the language structures from the fairy tales we had been reading. The following day, he came in enthusiastically asking if were going to "play with LEGOs again". I told him that we would be writing down the stories that we'd shared the day before. I expected a negative response. However, as I with bated breath for his response, he exclaimed: "Yes!" A smile spread across his face, and he topped it off with an arm pump!
I work primarily with English Learners and students who are struggling to put together the pieces of the literacy puzzle.
My sincere hope is that, as they link together the LEGO bricks, and articulate and share their ideas, they will make new discoveries and build positive associations with reading and writing. Your contribution can help facilitate the construction of a strong foundation for a love of learning.
Thank you for your consideration!
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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 Ms. Bridgett and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
