I teach in a low income/high poverty area. Most of my students come from broken homes, and many have had drugs impact their lives. My goal is to make school a safe place for them, someplace where they come and know they are safe and where someone has put their best interests first.
I try to create hands-on projects that the students will enjoy.
I find that my students learn best that way. Hands-on projects help to hold my students' interests better and help them focus.
My Project
Imagine you are sitting down to write. In front of you is an ordinary pencil and an ordinary piece of paper. Not too exciting or encouraging. Now, imagine sitting down to write and you can pick brightly colored paper and a special pen that writes in pretty colors. Your attitude suddenly changes and some of the stress of writing goes away.
Writing should not be a chore that students fight about doing and instead be a wonderful experience that can be had in any subject at any time.
When writing is not your strong point (and for many of my students, this is the case) it can be very stressful. Allowing students a choice and letting them feel in control will help them feel encouraged to write.
The materials that I have asked for will give the students choices and make writing more inviting. In my classroom we already have binders and folders for the students to keep their work in but we need different types of paper for the students to choose to fill them with. They can also choose from a variety of writing utensils (pencils, pens, and markers) that write in assorted colors.
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