This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
At the end of the school year, I want my students to be able to do calculations for physical science without much guidance from me. My biggest challenge, however, is that they do not know how to do basic calculations.
My students have been under-served in myriad ways.
As a science teacher, I struggle with students not understanding the relevance of math for science. They want to do science because science is fun, but they do not want to do the math. I've realized this is partly because they have limited basic math skills, so they feel very uncomfortable with doing what I am asking them to do. I am thus teaching them how to navigate word problems, as well as basic multiplication and division equations as I am teaching the science. They are catching on, they just need a bit more help from calculators.
My Project
Despite the no-phone policy, the students who have phones often reach for their phones to use the calculator. Inevitably, text messaging happens, music happens, Facebook happens. And while their parents give them a phone for emergency purposes, parents are less inclined to provide calculators for math emergencies. I need a class set of calculators.
My goal is to teach them to use calculators, and to use them appropriately, in science class. As I am guiding them through problems, with the end goal of having them complete the math in their heads, they do need the support of calculators for some hefty computations at the start.
This project will make a difference by helping me streamline instruction, without having to stop science instruction for every math problem we come across.
It will also make a difference in the students' confidence levels along the way by allowing them access to a computer technology without the impulse to grab phones or feel helpless because they are behind in basic math skills.
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 Ms. Ellingson and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
